Italy makes major Arctic oil find

Italy's ENI SpA has found enough oil to develop a first oilfield in the Norwegian sector of the Arctic Barents Sea.

NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) radio reported Wednesday that the Goliat field find off north Norway could contain 100 million barrels of oil.

ENI Norway chairman Sverre Bore said data from the drilling was likely to be published in January.

Environmentalists urged Norway's center-left government to ban any development of the field, saying any oil spills would threaten the fragile Arctic ecology.

"Goliat is too risky. The government must say stop," the WWF group said in a statement, saying Goliat was just 60 km (37 miles) from a major bird colony and in a major fish spawning ground.

Bore said the ENI had received no signals from Norway's government about whether it would allow development of Goliat if it proved commercial. The government says that it is imposing strict environmental rules in the Barents Sea.

Goliat was found in 2000. ENI has a 65 percent stake in the license, Norway's Statoil 20 percent and DNO 15 percent.