Exxon, Statoil to develop 6bn barrel Gulf development

Consortium holds 50% stake Washington – Arabstoday ExxonMobil and Statoil have agreed to spend $4bn to develop a six billion barrel oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, the two companies said. The Julia oil field, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) offshore south of New Orleans , Louisiana, will take about three years to bring into production, they said in a statement late Tuesday.
The field holds about six billion barrels worth of oil and gas resources, they said. The initial six production wells will put out about 34,000 barrels a day and be tied in to the nearby Jack and St Malo floating production facility of Chevron.
Exxon and Statoil each hold a 50 percent stake in the field.
Statoil\'s US-traded shares were up 1.4 percent at $23.61 in pre-market trade Wednesday, while Exxon shares added 0.1 percent to $91.23.