Explaining its decision, Statoil said its exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea couldn’t compete with projects elsewhere. “Solid work has been carried out, but given the current outlook we could not support continued efforts to mature these opportunities,” said Statoil’s head of exploration, Tim Dodson. The Norwegian oil and gas producer, which entered Alaska in February 2008, said it would close its office in Anchorage following recent exploration results in neighboring leases, and exit all its operations in the Chukchi Sea. The Chukchi Sea is believed to hold about 15 billion barrels of recoverable oil, but weak oil prices are reducing companies’ appetite for high-cost exploration in Arctic frontier areas, where they face long transportation distances, a challenging environment and lack of infrastructure. Shell announced on Sep. 28 that it would stop its exploration activity in Alaska for the foreseeable future, as its discoveries were insufficient to warrant further […]