Statoil Makes Small Oil Discovery in Norwegian Sea

Norway’s Statoil  , operator for production licence 159 C, is in the process of completing drilling of the wildcat well 6507/3-10. The well was drilled about 12 km south of the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea.

The purpose of the well was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks of the Middle and Early Jurassic Age (Fangst and Båt group).

The well encountered a 10-metre net oil column in Middle Jurassic (the Garn formation) with reservoir characteristics as expected. In addition, oil was encountered in a 2-3 metre thin sand layer in the upper part of the Tilje formation.

A preliminary estimate of the size of the discovery is under 1 million Sm3 recoverable oil. Analyses will be made of the discovery to assess its commerciality.

The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out.

This is the first exploration well in production licence 159 C, which was awarded in February 2008.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3430 metres below the surface of the sea and completed in the Åre formation of the Early Jurassic Age. The sea depth is 374 metres. The well will be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 6507/3-10 was drilled from the Songa Trym drilling facility, which will be going to production licence 128 in the Norwegian Sea to drill wildcat well 6608/10-15, where Statoil Petroleum AS is the operator.