Shell on Thursday failed to confirm a reports of  a major gas find in the Norwegian Sea at the Gro gas field, its communications director in Norway Geir Haug told Offshore247.

The reports surfaced in a Norwegian paper and were picked up by the Dutch paper, Financiele Dagblad and then spread to news agencies.

"The answer is very clear. No I can't," Geir Haug told Offshore247, when asked to comment on the reports of a major discovery.

"The answer from Shell is that there is no confirmation," he added.

Shell's group office in the Netherlands also told Offshore247 that the company could not comment.

Industry insiders say the market value of the Gro gas field is around 160 billion euros ($228 bn), Xinhua news agency reported.

Big boost for Shell and Statoil

This would mean the recoverable gas reserves are around 1,000 billion cubic meters, according to market experts. This is one of the largest discoveries in recent years.

Xinhua further reported that in response to the Norwegian report, Shell said exploratory drilling would continue until June 20 and will be used to make definitive estimates of the gas reserves.

A decision on whether to make an investmen will be based on those estimates, according to those reports.

The Gro field is on the same the latitude of the Arctic Circle but has a relatively mild climate. Efforts to recover gas in such remote areas cost billions of dollars, Dutch paper Financiele Dagblad said.

Shell jointly owns the exploration project with Norway's state-owned oil company Statoil.

Shell owns 60% and StatoilHydro has 40%.

The reports say the discovery is a boost for Shell, whose oil and gas production has been declining for years while worldwide demand has been rising steadily.

The Gro field could also be a major boost for the Norwegian energy industry, whose oil  and gas exports have also been falling since 2000.