Norway’s Statoil AS STO -0.34 % A said Tuesday it had almost halved the planned capital expenditure at the delayed Johan Castberg oil field in the Barents Sea to around $6 billion, as oil companies scramble to simplify projects and cut costs amid tanking prices. “By streamlining and optimizing a production vessel solution we have so far almost halved the cost estimates from close to 100 billion Norwegian kroner ($11.33 billion) to 50-60 billion,” said Morten Loktu, head of Statoil’s northern operations. The company said it and partners Eni E -0.55 % SpA and Petoro AS had chosen to develop the field with a floating production, storage and offloading vessel, or FPSO, and load the oil directly onto oil tankers rather than piping it to shore. “The major cost improvements are the result of a different and more streamlined concept, a smarter subsea design, a more efficient drilling and […]