Neptune amends volume estimate for Dugong discovery

Oil and gas company Neptune Energy has reduced the upper range of its volume estimate for the Dugong discovery, located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, following an appraisal well drilling.

Neptune revealed it had found hydrocarbons in the Dugong exploration well back in July 2020.

By August 2020, Neptune’s Dugong well was dubbed one of the largest discoveries drilled in Norway last year.

The company started drilling the Dugong appraisal well at the beginning of March 2021, using the Deepsea Yantai, a new semi-submersible rig owned by CIMC and operated by Odfjell Drilling.

In an update on Monday, Neptune announced an updated volume estimate for its Dugong discovery.

According to the company, the adjusted resource range is based on results from the recently completed appraisal well (34/4-16 S). The main objective of the well was achieved by establishing the oil-water contact.

Neptune’s revised estimate of the indicative recoverable resources is now 40-108 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), which will be subject to further detailed analysis and review.

Neptune previously estimated recoverable resources to be between 40 – 120 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The company added that a drill stem test on the well is planned at a later stage.

The discovery will be linked to nearby infrastructure or developed as a stand-alone development.

The Dugong discovery is located 158 kilometres west of Florø, Norway, at a water depth of 330 metres, and is close to the existing production facilities of the Snorre and Statfjord fields. The reservoir lies at a depth of 3,250-3,500 metres.

The primary appraisal target for the well 34/4-16 S was to delineate the discovery made in the Rannoch formation in well 34/4-15 S and 34/4-15 A.

The Dugong licence partners are Neptune Energy, the operator, with a 45 per cent interest, Petrolia NOCO with a 20 per cent,  Idemitsu Petroleum Norge also with a 20 per cent interest, and Concedo the remaining 15 per cent interest.

Neptune increased its interest in the Dugong discovery in October 2020 following an acquisition of a further five per cent interest from Concedo.

Petrolia NOCO said in a separate statement on Monday that the partnership aims to submit a Plan for Development and Operation by the end of 2022.

Petrolia also added that the partners plan to drill another exploration well in PL882 in the third quarter of 2021, targeting the Dugong Tail prospect, which could add additional volumes to the Dugong development.

According to information provided by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the Deepsea Yantai drilling rig is now moving on to drill development wells in production licence 636 on the Duva field in the North Sea, where Neptune Energy is the operator.