Eni to drill two new wells from Goliat and increase oil reserves

Italian oil company Eni will be increasing oil reserves on its Goliat field in the Barents Sea by drilling two wells to start production from the Snadd discovery, which is located between two already producing Goliat reservoirs. 

According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), a government agency whose task is to manage the oil and gas resources on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the two wells will be drilled from Goliat and increase oil reserves on the field by 1.2 million standard cubic meters (7.5 million barrels).

The Snadd reservoir is located between the two reservoirs from which Goliat is already producing, Realgrunnen and Kobbe. Snadd was mentioned in the Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for Goliat, and the authorities have now approved Eni’s application for a PDO exemption, the NPD said.

Snadd is in the Goliat license, which has an approved impact assessment. Modifications on the Goliat platform are not necessary and the wells will be drilled from the subsea equipment on Goliat. One production well and one water injection well will be drilled in Snadd.

The agency stated that Snadd will increase the reserves on Goliat to about 32 million standard cubic meters of oil equivalents (about 200 million barrels).

According to the operator, Eni, start-up of production from Snadd will take place in 2017.

Several prospects which can be tied in to Goliat, have been identified in the area. If prospects prove to be finds, further studies will determine whether they are commercial.

Tomas Mørch, assistant director in the NPD responsible for development and operations in the Barents Sea, said: “The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is pleased that the resources in Snadd will be produced. We also expect that the licensees on Goliat will drill more wells that can contribute to further improving recovery from the field.”