Oil and gas exploration firm Neptune Energy has hit hydrocarbons at the Dugong well in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
Neptune Energy said that logs and cuttings identified hydrocarbons upon entering the reservoir and made a decision to initiate coring.
The operations in the reservoir section are still at an early stage and final results are not yet available. A contingent side-track may be drilled to further define the extent of the discovery.
Petrolia NOCO, a partner in the well, estimated earlier that Dugong prospect contains prospective recoverable resources of 86 mmboe.
Dugong is located 158 kilometres west of Florø, Norway, at a water depth of 330 metres, and is close to the existing production facilities of the Snorre field. The reservoir lies at a depth of 3,250 – 3,400 metres.
The drilling program comprises a main bore with a down-dip sidetrack, subject to the results of the main bore.
Dugong has been drilled by the Deepsea Yantai, a new semi-submersible rig, owned by CIMC and operated by Odfjell Drilling.
The well was the first operated exploration well be drilled by Neptune in the northern North Sea since the Duva discovery in 2016.
To remind, Neptune secured a drilling permit to drill two wildcat wells at the Dugong prospect – 34/4-15 S and 34/4-15 A in early June.
Before that, Neptune gained a safety consent to use the Deepsea Yantai drilling rig for the North Sea wells. The work on the two Dugong wells would last between 44 and 90 days depending on whether discoveries were made.
The Dugong well is located in licence PL882, which is operated by Neptune Energy with a 40 per cent interest with Petrolia NOCO, Concedo, and Idemitsu Petroleum each holding a 20 per cent interest.