Statoil Discovers Gas/Condensate West of the Gullfaks Sor Field in the North Sea (Norway)

Statoil Petroleum AS, operator of production licence 50, is in the process of completing the drilling of wildcat well 34/10-53 S. The well is about two kilometres west of the Gullfaks Sør field, in the northern part of the North Sea.

The well’s primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in sandstone from the Middle Jurassic Age (the Brent group). The secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in older rocks from the Early Jurassic Age (the Statfjord formation).

Gas was proven in an approximate 300-metre column in the Brent group, in reservoir rock with good reservoir quality. The gas-water contact was not established. No petroleum was encountered in the Statfjord formation.

The well was not formation-tested, but data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. Preliminary estimates indicate that the size of the discovery is between three and 12 million Sm³ of recoverable oil equivalents. The plan is for a tie-in to the existing infrastructure in the Gullfaks Sør area.

Production licence 50 was awarded in the 3rd licensing round in 1978. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3847 metres below the sea surface, and was terminated in the Statfjord formation from the Early Jurassic Age.

The water depth at the site is 136 metres. The well has been plugged, and the Deepsea Atlantic(photo) will continue drilling with wildcat well 34/10-53 A as a sidetrack.

Well 34/10-53 S was drilled for Statoil Petroleum AS.

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Source:NPD, February  9, 2011; Image: Odfjel Drilling