Statoil and partners Eni and Petoro have made an oil discovery in the Kayak well in the Johan Castberg license, offshore Norway.
Statoil received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority to drill the Kayak well with the Songa Enabler drilling rig in April and a drilling permit from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate in early June.
Totaling between 25 and 50 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents, the discovery may provide valuable additional volumes for the Johan Castberg development, Statoil said on Monday. The discovery also opens other exploration opportunities in the same area.
The Kayak well has for the first time proven resources in this type of play in the Barents Sea.
“We are very pleased to have made a good discovery in our first completed well in the Barents Sea this year. We are particularly pleased to have proven resources in a type of play that has not been explored before. This opens interesting opportunities,” says Jez Averty , senior vice president for exploration, Norway and the UK.
“Efforts will be made to find a commercial solution for the Kayak discovery towards the Johan Castberg licence, and to bring out other similar prospects in the Barents Sea,” Averty adds.
Development of the discovery towards the Johan Castberg field will be considered, the oil firm said.
“There may be additional resources in this structure, and we will now analyse the acquired data and consider possible appraisal of the discovery,” says Jez Averty.
According to the company, the Songa Enabler rig will now return to and complete the Blåmann well. Next, drilling at Gemini North will start. All of the necessary permits are in place, and the work can start as early as July 10.