By Henrique Almeida LUANDA (Reuters) - Norwegian oil and gas group StatoilHydro could open a new frontier in oil exploration in Angola as it tries to tap into the nation's vast oil reserves several kilometres below the ocean floor. Angola shares a similar underwater rock formation as Brazil, which in in 2007 stunned the world with a new so-called pre salt discovery of some 8 billion barrels of crude in its Tupi field. Brazil's success with pre salt -- named by the president a "Gift from God" -- has provided fresh impetus for similar exploration in Angola, with StatoilHydro leading the way. "We are actually looking for this famous pre salt that you can see in Brazil," Bjorn Albert Rasmussen, head of StatoilHydro in Angola told Reuters in an interview on Friday. "This is a new opportunity," he added. Oil companies in Angola, which rivals Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer, currently explore for oil in offshore wells around 1,000 to 2,000 metres deep. If viable, pre salt drilling and exploration would bring the game to a whole new level. "In Angola the potential is great. When it comes to pre salt we do not know. It carries very high risk and we have to be aware of that," said Rasmussen. "Just like in Brazil, it will be very costly to drill these wells. A pre salt well in a favourable location might easily exceed $150 million." StatoilHydro currently pumps 200,000 barrels of oil per day from Angola's deepwater offshore wells, more than 10 percent of the nation's daily oil output. Though deepwater was once massively expensive, high oil prices during 2007 and the first half of 2008 made the economics of deepwater drilling feasible. NEW LICENCES Oil's collapse during the 2008 financial crisis slashed the profit margins of many oil majors in the industry. Rasmussen said demand for deepwater and pre salt drilling should rebound in the long term because of rising global demand for energy. "Oil exploration is a long term process and our investments already take into account the ups and downs in oil prices," he said. Asked if StatoilHydro was interested in bidding for new oil licences in Angola, Rasmussen replied: "Yes." The last licensing round for oil blocks was suspended in the first half of 2008, before the country's first post-war parliamentary election. State-run oil firm Sonangol said a new round is unlikely to happen this year. "Maybe the next round of bidding will happen early next year. In the first quarter or second quarter. That is our 'guesstimate'." | 
