Lundin drills two dry wells offshore Norway

Lundin Norway AS, operator of production licence 501, has completed drilling of wildcat wells 16/2-20 S and 16/2-20 A (Torvastad prospect) in the Norwegian part of the North Sea. According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate the wells are dry.

The wells were drilled about 3.2 kilometres northwest of appraisal well 16/2-9 S on the 16/2-6 Johan Sverdrup oil discovery in the central part of the North Sea.

The objective of well 16/2-20 S was to prove petroleum in Upper/Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks in a separate prospect, as well as to verify potential communication with 16/2-6 Johan Sverdrup. The well encountered an approx. 21-metre thick Lower Cretaceous/Upper Jurassic sandstone with poor reservoir quality. In Middle/Lower Jurassic, a total of ten metres of sandstone with good reservoir quality were encountered. Both reservoirs have traces of oil, but are aquiferous and have somewhat lower reservoir pressure than the 16/2-6 Johan Sverdrup oil discovery.

The objective of well 16/2-20 A was to prove oil in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks higher up and about 770 metres further west on the prospect. The well encountered an approx. 19-metre thick Lower Cretaceous/Upper Jurassic sandstone with poor reservoir quality. In Middle/Lower Jurassic, a total of approximately eight metres of sandstone were encountered with moderate reservoir quality.

Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out in the wells. Both wells are classified as dry.

Wells 16/2-20 S and 16/2-20 A are the second and third wildcat wells drilled in production licence 501. The licence was awarded on 23 January 2009 (APA 2008).

The wells were drilled to 2068 and 2028 metres vertical depth, respectively, and 2150 and 2215 metres measured depth below the sea surface, respectively. Both wells were terminated in basement rock. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned. Water depth is 110 metres.

The wells were drilled by the Island Innovator drilling facility, which will now drill appraisal well 16/1-18 on the Edvard Grieg field in production licence 338, where Lundin Norway AS is the operator.