What does the future hold for the Barents Sea?

It is a big year of upstream activity in the Norwegian Barents Sea - a record number of E&A wells are planned and the first in the prospective southeast area bordering Russia was completed last week. While results so far have been underwhelming, there are still plenty of wells expected over the next 12 months. This period is crucial for the NCS because if it is to maintain current levels of activity and output, the Barents needs to deliver. On 31 August 2017, Wood Mackenzie presented its outlook for the Barents Sea at the annual Norway Portfolio Managers conference in Hamburg. This presentation looks at the history of the basin plus the key wells, projects and players. While success rates so far have been impressive, value creation has been minimal. We give our view on prospectivity and what’s required to unlock its full potential.