And its technical expertise has led to a very strong drilling track record.

FORBES: Gassing Up

The recent discoveries by Statoil in the Barents Sea have fueled new interest in exploration activity in the Arctic regions of Norway, leading to record levels of drilling in 2011 with 4 additional wells planned this year and 7 more in 2012.

FORBES: Arctic Chill As Norway And Transocean Try To Offset Production Declines

Drilling services giant Halliburton released its U.S. quarterly earnings report this week, highlighting record revenue generation due to expanded land-based drilling operations and international activities.

FORBES: Investor Uncertainty Mirrors Political Hostility

He acknowledged the good safety record of UK and Norwegian drilling and promised to work in close co-operation with their national governments.

BBC: Call for moratorium on oil drilling proves controversial

After the BP oil spill, the administration put a moratorium on an already anemic record of approving deep-water drilling permits.

FORBES: Obama Ignores the Fastest Way to Create Jobs

As the company looks to record more high-grade intercepts at Monster Lake through drilling, feasibility work on putting a number on the resources the project holds.

FORBES: PDAC: TomaGold's Recent High-Grade Gold Intercepts At Monster Lake Raises Company's Profile-CEO

It is no wonder that BP are acting out this exercise in a public way as US lawmakers threatened to block any application BP would make to be party to drilling and exploration activity involving new US offshore leases because of its past safety record.

FORBES: BP's Dudley Cleans House Post-Deepwater Debacle

Thus, this drilling for liquids helped U.S. gas production hit an all-time record in 2010 of 26.8 trillion cubic feet.

FORBES: To Import Less Oil, U.S. Must Export More Gas