Statoil Petroleum AS, operator of production licence 602, has concluded the drilling of wildcat well 6706/11-2 in the Norwegian Sea. The well encountered gas.
The well was drilled about 20 kilometres west of the Aasta Hansteen field in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea.
The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks (the Nise formation).
According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), the well encountered a total gas column of about 70 metres in the Nise formation, of which 40 metres in sandstone with very good reservoir quality. Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between one and three billion standard cubic metres (Sm3 ) of recoverable gas.
The NPD says that the well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out.
“Our 2015 exploration campaign around Aasta Hansteen has proven an upside potential in the area. The estimated total volumes in the three discoveries, Snefrid Nord, Roald Rygg and Gymir, amount to 75-120 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent, corresponding to about 1/3 of the Aasta Hansteen recoverable volumes. The discoveries will now be further evaluated for future tie-in to the Aasta Hansteen facilities in order to optimise utilisation of the infrastructure and prolong the production plateau,” says Dan Tuppen , vice president exploration Norwegian and Barents Sea in Statoil.
This is the second exploration well in production licence 602. The licence was awarded in the 21st licensing round in 2011.
Well 6706/11-2 was drilled to a vertical depth of 2556 metres below the sea surface, and was terminated in the Nise formation in the Upper Cretaceous. Water depth at the site is 1272 metres. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.
Well 6706/11-2 was drilled by the Transocean Spitsbergen drilling rig, which will now be laid up at Averøy outside Kristiansund. The rig has completed its contract with Statoil.
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