Statoil Discovers Oil Near Gimle Field

Statoil Petroleum AS, operator of production licences 120 B/Gimle Unit, has completed drilling of an observation well with exploration targets, 34/10-C-18 A.

The well was drilled on the eastern flank of the Gimle field, which is located between the Gullfaks and Visund fields in the northern part of the North Sea.

The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic to Upper Triassic reservoir rocks (Brent Group, Statfjord Group and Lunde formation). The well was drilled at an angle and encountered petroleum in the Brent Group, Statfjord Group and Lunde formation with reservoir sands of presumably good reservoir quality. Preliminary calculation of the size of the discoveries totals between 0.2 and 1 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents. The discoveries will be considered for tie-in to the Gimle field.

The well was not formation-tested and limited data acquisition was carried out due to technical issues in the well. 34/10-C-18 A was drilled to a vertical depth of 3023 metres below the sea surface, with a measured depth of 8501 metres and was terminated in rocks presumably belonging to the Lunde formation. Water depth at the site is about 220 metres.

Well 34/10-C-18 A was drilled from the Gullfaks C platform. The well was plugged and abandoned, and was then side-tracked as development well 34/10-C-18 B in Gimle.

Press Release, May 09, 2014; Image: NPD