Statoil of Norway has on Thursday made a minor gas discovery in the 30/11-13 wildcat well, drilled by the Songa Delta drilling rig, southwest of the Oseberg South field in the North Sea.
According to a statement by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, Statoil, operator of the production license 272, encountered gas columns at two levels in the top part of the Tarbert formation, a total of 5 and 31 meters, respectively.
The primary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Tarbert formation). The secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Ness formation).
“The secondary exploration target in the Ness formation is aquiferous,” NPD said.
The preliminary estimation of the size of the discovery is between one and three million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalents. It is the fourth exploration well in the production license 272.
The well, at a water depth of 106 meters will be permanently plugged and abandoned, and the Songa Delta will continue the drilling campaign by drilling wildcat well 30/11-14 in the same production license, where Statoil is the operator.