Dry Hole for Lundin in North Sea (Norway)

Lundin Petroleum has completed the drilling of wildcat well 7/4-3, offshore Norway.

The well was drilled 24 km north of the Lundin Petroleum operated Brynhild field in the North Sea, offshore Norway, and approximately 22 km east of the UK Everest field.

The exploration well 7/4-3 was targeting the Upper Triassic and Upper Cretaceous reservoirs of the Carlsberg prospect. The well encountered no hydrocarbons and is being plugged and abandoned as a dry hole.

The primary exploration target of the well was to prove petroleum in Upper Triassic reservoir rocks (the Skagerrak Formation). The Skagerrak Formation sands were not encountered.

The second exploration target of the well was to prove petroleum in the Upper Cretaceous chalk reservoir. The reservoir was found at the predicted depth but was water bearing with no presence of hydrocarbons.

The well is the first exploration well in PL495 and PL495B. The licenses were awarded in APA 2008 and APA 2011.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 2,957 metres below mean sea level, and was terminated in the Smith Bank Formation in the Triassic. The well was drilled in water depth of 82 metres by the jack-up rig Maersk Guardian. Following the plugging and abandonment of well 7/4-3 the Maersk Guardian rig will move to the Brynhild field to commence the drilling of the development wells.

The costs of the exploration well 7/4-3 and associated license costs will most likely be expensed during the second quarter of 2013.

Lundin Norway is the operator and has a 60 percent working interest in PL495 and PL495B. The partner is Tullow Oil Norge AS with a 40 percent working interest.