Maersk Oil Celebrates 40 Years
News Release
A.P. Moller - Maersk Group
July 6, 2012
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<DIV>Exactly 40 years ago Maersk Oil produced first oil in the North Sea. The
production has not only resulted in 2.1 billion barrels of oil extracted, it has
also given Maersk Oil thorough knowledge of operating challenging
fields.<BR><BR>In 1962, A.P. Moller - Maersk was awarded the sole concession to
explore for oil and gas in Denmark marking the foundation of Maersk Oil. Since
then 2.1 billion barrels of oil have been produced in the area, and more is to
come.<BR><BR>In the 1970s and 1980s, it was a hard slog to produce even the
tiniest amount of oil in the area. Using the industry standard vertical drilling
and naturally-occurring pressure, just 5% of oil was producible from reservoirs
of tight chalk through which any liquid flows with difficulty.<BR><BR>However,
during the 80s and 90s Maersk Oil drilled its first horizontal well and,
combined with injection of water into reservoirs, raised the amount of oil and
gas that can be produced to about 30%.<BR><BR>"Our history in the Danish North
Sea is marked by a pioneering, 'can-do' spirit. We never had easy oil and had to
learn the hard way how to get it out. But that turned us into a resilient
company that valued creative thinking and technological innovation,"<BR>Jakob
Thomasen, Maersk Oil CEO<BR><BR>Going global<BR>Handling the difficult
conditions of oil and gas production in the North Sea, Maersk Oil specialised in
turning marginal and challenging fields into commercial successes; an expertise
which became very useful when venturing further into the world.<BR><BR>In the Al
Shaheen field in Qatar, which is thinly spread across a vast expanse,
traditional development of the field would have been uneconomic.<BR><BR>"Our
expertise allowed us to drill extremely long wells that infiltrated such slim
reservoirs, making production commercially viable. Today, we produce 300,000
barrels a day from Al Shaheen, which together with the Danish North Sea, is the
cornerstone of Maersk Oil's business," says Jakob Thomasen.<BR><BR>Today, Maersk
Oil has changed from a minor Danish company to becoming a truly global firm with
3,200 employees in 11 countries.<BR><BR>Drilling more wells<BR>Besides the
global approach, with exploration and production activities across five
continents, Maersk Oil continues to have a strong focus on the North
Sea.<BR><BR>Last week, Maersk Oil announced yet another exploration well to be
drilled in the North Sea.<BR><BR>Visit the 40th anniversary on Maersk Oil's
internet here.<BR><BR>"This exploration well shows Maersk Oil continues to be
fully committed to oil and gas production in Denmark and believes there is more
oil and gas to be found in this mature region," said Esbern Hoch, Head of
Exploration for Denmark, Greenland and the Middle East North Africa
region.<BR><BR>"We will be committing not just substantial financial resources,
but also a lot of time, technical expertise and people to this project as our
exploration and production adventure here takes on a second life," Hoch
said.<BR><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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<DIV>Exactly 40 years ago Maersk Oil produced first oil in the North Sea. The
production has not only resulted in 2.1 billion barrels of oil extracted, it has
also given Maersk Oil thorough knowledge of operating challenging
fields.<BR><BR>In 1962, A.P. Moller - Maersk was awarded the sole concession to
explore for oil and gas in Denmark marking the foundation of Maersk Oil. Since
then 2.1 billion barrels of oil have been produced in the area, and more is to
come.<BR><BR>In the 1970s and 1980s, it was a hard slog to produce even the
tiniest amount of oil in the area. Using the industry standard vertical drilling
and naturally-occurring pressure, just 5% of oil was producible from reservoirs
of tight chalk through which any liquid flows with difficulty.<BR><BR>However,
during the 80s and 90s Maersk Oil drilled its first horizontal well and,
combined with injection of water into reservoirs, raised the amount of oil and
gas that can be produced to about 30%.<BR><BR>"Our history in the Danish North
Sea is marked by a pioneering, 'can-do' spirit. We never had easy oil and had to
learn the hard way how to get it out. But that turned us into a resilient
company that valued creative thinking and technological innovation,"<BR>Jakob
Thomasen, Maersk Oil CEO<BR><BR>Going global<BR>Handling the difficult
conditions of oil and gas production in the North Sea, Maersk Oil specialised in
turning marginal and challenging fields into commercial successes; an expertise
which became very useful when venturing further into the world.<BR><BR>In the Al
Shaheen field in Qatar, which is thinly spread across a vast expanse,
traditional development of the field would have been uneconomic.<BR><BR>"Our
expertise allowed us to drill extremely long wells that infiltrated such slim
reservoirs, making production commercially viable. Today, we produce 300,000
barrels a day from Al Shaheen, which together with the Danish North Sea, is the
cornerstone of Maersk Oil's business," says Jakob Thomasen.<BR><BR>Today, Maersk
Oil has changed from a minor Danish company to becoming a truly global firm with
3,200 employees in 11 countries.<BR><BR>Drilling more wells<BR>Besides the
global approach, with exploration and production activities across five
continents, Maersk Oil continues to have a strong focus on the North
Sea.<BR><BR>Last week, Maersk Oil announced yet another exploration well to be
drilled in the North Sea.<BR><BR>Visit the 40th anniversary on Maersk Oil's
internet here.<BR><BR>"This exploration well shows Maersk Oil continues to be
fully committed to oil and gas production in Denmark and believes there is more
oil and gas to be found in this mature region," said Esbern Hoch, Head of
Exploration for Denmark, Greenland and the Middle East North Africa
region.<BR><BR>"We will be committing not just substantial financial resources,
but also a lot of time, technical expertise and people to this project as our
exploration and production adventure here takes on a second life," Hoch
said.<BR><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>