Equinor and its partners Petoro and OMV have made an oil & gas discovery some 190 kilometers northwest of Bergen, in Norway, marking the first exploration well drilled in the production license.
Wildcat wells 33/12-N-3 HH and 33/12-N-3 GH were drilled in the Granat prospect near Gullfaks, in connection with drilling an oil development well on the Gullfaks Satellites (33/12-N-3 IH) in production licence 152.
The discovery was made in 33/12-N-3 HH in production license 277, which was awarded in 2002 (North Sea Awards 2001).
Wildcat well 33/12-N-3 GH, which had drilling targets in production license 152 awarded in 1988, was dry.
Preliminary estimates place the Granat discovery between 0.2 and 0.6 million standard cubic meters (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent (o.e.), corresponding to 1.3-3.8 million barrels of o.e.
The wells were drilled from production license 050 using the 2017-built Askeladden rig.
The licensees, including Equinor as the operator, Petoro and OMV, are considering tying the discovery back to existing infrastructure in the Gullfaks area.
Wellbore 33/12-N-3 HH was plugged and abandoned after being drilled to a vertical depth of 3,275 meters due to an unstable hole. Technical sidetrack 33/12-3 HHT2 was drilled to respective measured and vertical depths of 7,846 and 3,715 meters, and was terminated in the Drake Formation.
Water depth at the site is 137 meters, and the wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned.