Statoil hits gas in Norwegian Sea

Norwegian energy giant and LNG operator Statoil made a minor gas find in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea and about 200 kilometers west of Sandnessjøen.

Statoil, as operator of the production license 159 B, drilled the wildcat well 6507/3-12 and appraisal well 6507/3-12 A, about six kilometers east of the Alve field, to prove petroleum in middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (Garn and Not formations).

The secondary target of the wildcat well was to prove petroleum in the Ile formation, as well as to collect geological data if cretaceous sandstone rocks were present, Norwegian Petroleum Directorate informed in its statement.

Well 6507/3-12 encountered a total gas column of about 7 meters in a late cretaceous sandstone layer with good reservoir properties. In the primary and secondary exploration targets, the well encountered about 30-metres of aquiferous sandstone in the Garn and Not formations, and about 65 meters of aquiferous sandstone in the Ile and Tofte formations, all with good to moderate reservoir properties.

Well 6507/3-12 A was stopped due to technical issues regarding presumed gas-filled sandstone, and no further attempts were made to drill the appraisal well.

Preliminary estimations place the size of the discovery between one and five billion standard cubic meters of recoverable gas.

The licensees will assess the discovery along with other nearby discoveries/prospects with regard to a possible development.

Wells 6507/3-12 and 6507/3-12 A were drilled by the Deepsea Bergen drilling facility, which will now proceed to the Åsgard field in the Norwegian Sea to complete production well 6506/12-S-4 BH.