According to the most favorable forecasts, the Icelandic state stands to collect thousands of billions of krónur (ISK 1,000 billion = USD 12 billion, EUR 8 billion) in tax revenue if oil is found in the so-called “Dragon Zone” of the northeast coast of Iceland in the coming decades. There are still a number of uncertain factors in these models as tax revenue will be dependent on fluctuations in world oil prices.
This information was presented at a packed conference organized yesterday in Reykjavík by the Ministry of Industry and The National Energy Authority on the viability of offshore drilling in the Dragon Zone. The latest research and data on the zone was also presented at the conference, Morgunbladid [05.09.2008] reports.
The conference speakers included a number of geologists, who stated that there were good chances of finding oil in the zone. Terje Hagevang, an expert with Sagex Petroleum, threw out a bold estimate that in the zone there may be as much as ten billion barrels of oil.
Although it remains unclear whether there is any oil at all in the zone, it is highly unlikely that offshore drilling will commence in full before 2020.
