Nam, a joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil, announced on 9 January the discovery of a gas field in the Netherlands which is estimated to hold 4bn m³ of reserves, according to a statement released by the company. The discovery represents the largest onshore gas discovery in the Netherlands since 1995. According to the Nam statement, extraction from the newly discovered field will last some 15 years.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Norwegian energy company Statoil, one of the world’s leading oil producers, announced a significant oil discovery in the Barents Sea, the second significant discovery in the Arctic waters in the last nine months. According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, there could be up to 6bn bo/e in the area of Barents Sea controlled by Norway.