Aker BP bites dust in North Sea well

Norwegian E&P player Aker BP has drilled a dry well southwest of the Knarr field located in the North Sea offshore Norway. 

The wildcat well 34/2-5 S is located in production license 790 where Aker BP is the operator. This is the first exploration well in this production license which was awarded in APA 2014.

Aker BP received a drilling permit for the well as well as consent to use the Transocean Arctic rig for it in December 2017.

The well was drilled about 6 km southwest of the Knarr field and 20 km north of the Visund field. Water depth is 388 meters.

The primary exploration targets for the well were to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Early Jurassic – Triassic (sandstones in the Statfjord group and in the Lunde formation).

The secondary exploration target was to prove reservoir quality and petroleum in underlying reservoir rocks from the Triassic Age (Lunde formation) sandstones. The well encountered the primary exploration target with a total of 72 meters of aquiferous sandstone layers in the Statfjord group with varying reservoir characteristics from moderate to very good.

In the secondary exploration target, aquiferous sandstone layers totaling 42 meters were encountered, mainly with moderate to good reservoir characteristics.

The well has been classified as dry, with traces of petroleum. The well was not formation-tested, but data has been acquired.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3190 meters below sea level and 3656 meters measured depth below the sea surface. It was terminated in the Lunde formation in the Upper Triassic.

The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.

The Transocean Arctic drilling rig will now drill a wildcat well on the west flank of the Valhall field, where Aker BP is also the operator.