OMV completes appraisal of Iris discovery

OMV Norge, a Norwegian unit of Austrian oil company OMV, is in the process of completing the drilling of appraisal well 6506/11-11 S on the 6506/11-10 (Iris) gas/condensate discovery in the Norwegian Sea. 

Deepsea Bergen rig
Deepsea Bergen rig; Source: CCB

The well is located in production license 644 where OMV Norge is the operator. It was drilled about 20 kilometres west of the Åsgard field and 240 kilometres north of Kristiansund.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said on Thursday that the discovery was proven in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Garn formation) in 2018. Prior to the drilling of well 6506/11-11 S, the operator’s resource estimate for the discovery was between 3 and 21 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents.

The primary exploration target for the well was to delineate the gas/condensate discovery in the Garn formation towards the southwest, reduce the uncertainty linked to the resource estimate, and conduct a formation test. Another objective of the well was to investigate whether there is petroleum present in reservoir rocks in the underlying Ile formation in the Middle Jurassic.

The well encountered a gas column totalling around 70 metres in the Garn formation, of which about 50 metres of sandstone with reservoir properties varying from poor to good. The gas/water contact was not encountered. Multiple sandstone layers were encountered with moderate to good reservoir quality totalling about 55 metres in the Ile formation, which is aquiferous.

Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery in the Garn formation between 4 and 12 million Sm3 recoverable oil equivalents. The licensees will consider developing the discovery as a subsea development tied in to existing installations in the area.

Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been conducted in the well. Two successful formation tests were carried out in the Garn formation. The maximum production rate was 1.6 million Sm3 gas and 885 Sm3 condensate per flow day through a 52/64-inch nozzle opening.

This is the first exploration well in production license 644.The license was awarded in APA 2011. The 6506/11-10 discovery well was drilled in production license 644 B which was awarded in APA 2015.

Appraisal well 6506/11-11 S was drilled to respective vertical and measured depths of 4433 and 4443 metres under the sea surface, and was terminated in the Ror formation in the Lower to Middle Jurassic.

Water depth at the site is 382 metres. The well will now be plugged and abandoned.

The well was drilled by the Deepsea Bergen drilling rig, which will now drill wildcat well 25/8-19 S in production license 820 S in the North Sea, where MOL Norge is the operator.


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