Azinor Catalyst chooses Ocean Guardian rig for North Sea drilling work

Azinor Catalyst Limited, a UKCS-focused E&P company, has awarded a rig contract to one of Diamond Offshore’s semi-submersible rigs for a drilling campaign in the third quarter 2017.

Azinor said on Friday that the contract was for the drilling of two operated wells using Diamond Offshore’s Ocean Guardian rig.

The first exploration well will target the Partridge prospect which will be immediately followed by an appraisal well to test the Agar discovery and Plantain prospect.

Partridge

Catalyst acquired a 100 percent operated interest in blocks 14/11a, 14/12a and 14/16a, which contain the Partridge prospect, back in December 2015.

The company estimated that drilling of the Partridge exploration well would take approximately 25 days.

The prospect’s pre-drill recoverable volumes have been estimated at 119 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe) in the mid-case, with an upside case of 260 mboe. Partridge has a relatively shallow and normally pressured reservoir and is located on the Outer Moray Firth, adjacent to the Scapa, Claymore, and Athena oil fields.

The seismic signature of the prospect is directly analogous to the one observed in the Lower Cretaceous sands at the producing Scapa and Claymore Fields.

Agar and Plantain

Catalyst holds a 50 percent interest in blocks 9/9d and 9/14a, which contain Agar and Plantain. The Agar discovery was made in 2014 with the 9/14a-15A exploration well which encountered a 33 feet column. Agar and Plantain have an estimated combined mid case resources of 60 mboe, with an upside case of 98 mboe.

Located in the South Viking Graben, Agar and Plantain are 12 kilometers east of Apache’s Beryl field and 14 kilometers west of Aker BP’s Alvheim hub.

Drilling of the Agar appraisal well is expected to take approximately 35 days and includes a sidetrack to test the Plantain Prospect.

Nick Terrell, managing director of Azinor Catalyst, said: “A successful outcome at Partridge would not only generate huge value for the company but also unlock significant upside potential in the exciting Lower Cretaceous play in nearby acreage which we secured access to through our recently awarded 29th Round Licences.

“We are also extremely pleased to announce our plans to appraise our highly material and low-risk Agar discovery and Plantain prospect this summer.”

Henry Morris, technical director of Azinor Catalyst, added: “Both prospects and plays have huge potential which will be unlocked by these wells. The Agar/Plantain Eocene-age reservoir is proven to be working directly over the median line in Norway for Aker BP at Volund.

“Agar and Plantain share the same seismic characteristics as Volund and look bigger. We tagged the up dip end of Agar in 2014, proving the trap works and that the supporting seismic anomaly is hydrocarbon bearing.”