Oil and gas company Faroe Petroleum has started drilling its operated Brasse appraisal well 31/7-2S in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
Faroe announced the Brasse oil and gas discovery in PL740, where it holds 50% interest, in July 2016.
The main wellbore 31/7-1 encountered an 18 meter gross gas column and a 21 meter gross oil column, and the sidetrack well (31/7-1A) encountered a 6 meter gross gas column and 25 meter gross oil column, with both wells encountering good quality Jurassic reservoir.
Total gross volumes of recoverable hydrocarbons have been estimated by the company to be 28-54 mmbbls of oil and 89-158 bcf of gas (43-80 mmboe gross in aggregate).
The main objectives of the appraisal well are to reduce the uncertainty in the reserves estimates and to provide important additional information for the development project. The Brasse appraisal well will target a seismic anomaly c. 2 km to the southeast of the main discovery well and has the potential to derisk further reserves upsides beyond the existing uncertainity range.
The Brasse discovery is located within tie-back distance to existing infrastructure: 13 kilometers to the south of the Brage field platform, in which the company holds a 14.3% working interest and 13 kilometers to the south east of the Oseberg field center.
Faroe, as operator, has entered into a contract with Odfjell Drilling for the use of the semi-submersible drilling rig, Deepsea Bergen, for the drilling operations.
The company received consent from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority to use the Deepsea Bergen to drill two appraisal wells on North Sea production license where the Brasse discovery is located in earlier in May.
Potential second appraisal
Faroe, in cooperation with licence partner Point Resources (50%), will decide on a potential second appraisal on the Brasse discovery later this year, dependent upon the results of the 31/7-2S well. The well results will also be used for the ongoing evaluation of the prospectivity of the recently awarded Brasse Extension area (Faroe 50% and operator) ahead of a potential drill decision in 2018.
Graham Stewart , Chief Executive of Faroe Petroleum, commented: “We are very pleased to announce the spud of the Faroe-operated Brasse appraisal well, which is designed to derisk the size and extent of the Brasse field ahead of progressing towards development sanction.
“Brasse is one of Faroe’s most significant discoveries to date, and was the largest discovery in the Norwegian North Sea in 2016. Brasse is set to become a key project for us, and underlines our ability to continue to add significant value through low-cost exploration in our core areas. Faroe is now actively investing in pre-development and development of several of its own discoveries, each of which has the potential to transform the value of the company in the coming years.”