Marine Well Containment Company Welcomes Statoil

The Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) announced today that Statoil has joined as a member.

Marty Massey, MWCC chief executive officer, said, “We welcome Statoil as a member of the Marine Well Containment Company. As part of MWCC, Statoil joins our effort to improve the containment and response capability in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and be continuously ready to respond in the event of a future deepwater well control incident.”

Bill Maloney, Statoil executive vice president, North America development and production, said, “Our membership underpins Statoil’s continued and strong commitment to the Gulf of Mexico. The equipment and capabilities developed by MWCC are important to build confidence and ensure safe deepwater operations as we resume drilling in the area. Statoil plans to actively contribute to the further development of the MWCC and its well containment solutions.”

Other MWCC members include ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, BP, Apache, Anadarko and BHP Billiton.

System equipment and services is available to members and non-members. Non-members will be able to enter into agreements for access to the MWCC system on a per well fee basis.

The company’s interim well containment system is ready for deployment today and is capable of operating in a water depth of up to 8,000 feet and processing up to 60,000 barrels of fluid per day. Work is also under way to expand the system to operate in a water depth of up to 10,000 feet and process up to 100,000 barrels of fluid per day for delivery in 2012.

More information about the U.S. Gulf of Mexico marine well containment system is available at http://www.marinewellcontainment.com.