Oslo recognizes OCS significance - UPI.com 12 (UPI) -- The Norwegian government said renaming a major oil and natural gas discovery in the North Sea is a symbol of the country's identity. Operators of the Draupne oil and gas deposit in the central North Sea, in coordination with government officials, renamed the field after Ivar Aasen, who in the 1800s developed one of the two official written forms of the Norwegian language. Norwegian energy company Statoil holds a majority stake in the project. The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said the project has exploitable reserves of around 600 cubic feet of oil and 109 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe said renaming of large developments serves as a reminder of the country's national identity. "The names of large, independent developments have a signal effect beyond the continental shelf," he said in a statement. Production from Ivar Aasen is expected by 2016. Oslo said it received applications from 47 companies for an upcoming bidding round for reserves on its continental shelf, a level of interest that the energy minister said was significant.