Norway confirms small Arctic oil find

OSLO, March 3 (Reuters) - Norwegian oil explorer Det norske

DETNOR.OL made a small oil discovery in the Arctic Barents Sea with a gross oil column of about 30 metres and much poorer reservoir quality than expected, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Monday.

Det norske earlier said it found some oil in the prospect but initial volumes did not justify development.

Det norske operates the licence and holds a 20 percent stake. Other shareholders include Sweden's Lundin Petroleum

LUPE.ST (20 percent), Tullow TLW.L (15 percent), Rocksource

RGT.OL (5 percent), Norwegian state holding firm Petoro (30 percent) and Atlantic Petroleum (10 percent).

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi)

((Balazs.Koranyi@thomsonreuters.com)(+47 2331 6596)(Reuters Messaging: balazs.koranyi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: NORWAY OIL/FIND