Wintershall Announces Successful Drilling of Skarfjell South Appraisal Well

Wintershall is well on track in the North Sea: the largest internationally active German crude oil and natural gas producer announces the successful drilling of the Skarfjell South appraisal well on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The company proved oil and gas in the upper and lower Intra-Heather sandstones of the Skarfjell structure with reservoir properties that exceed expectations. The appraisal well consists of a main bore (35/9-10S) and a sidetrack (35/9-10A). Both were drilled from the rig Transocean Arctic. Skarfjell, Wintershall’s own-operated discovery from April 2012, is situated in the northeastern North Sea approximately 15 kilometers southwest of the Gjøa platform and about 130 kilometers northwest of Bergen.

Development evaluation

Skarfjell South is the second appraisal well in the structure. The first appraisal in the northern part of Skarfjell proved an extension of the field to the north and suggested resources of between 60 million – 160 million boe (10 – 25 million Sm3). Skarfjell South has proven an extension of the structure to the south and reduced uncertainties in the reservoir quality distribution. The appraisal confirmed the oil volumes and additionally showed the presence of a gas cap. The current, preliminary resource estimate is between 120 – 230 million boe, comprising 10 – 23 million Sm3 of oil and condensate and 8 – 15 billion Sm3 of gas.

“This is likely the last well in the Skarfjell appraisal campaign. We are now in a position to begin evaluating a possible development. As a fully integrated crude oil and natural gas producer in Norway, Wintershall will apply the expertise gained in current development projects such as Maria, to the development of Skarfjell,” says Bernd Schrimpf, Managing Director of Wintershall Norge AS. Wintershall will now start evaluating Skarfjell for development together with other discoveries in the area, potentially as a tie back to the Gjøa platform or other facility, or as a standalone development.

“We are extremely pleased with the result of this well which has validated our geological model. In fact the reservoir quality exceeds our expectations and it appears we now have a connected continuous hydrocarbon accumulation in the north and southwest with very good reservoir quality. We now look forward to the next step which is the development studies phase,” says Guy Oakes, Exploration Manager, Wintershall Norge AS.

The main bore 35/9-10S was drilled to a vertical depth of 2837 meters below sea level and terminated in the Brent Group. The sidetrack 35/9-10A was drilled to a vertical depth of 2835 meters below sea level and also terminated in the Brent Group.

Partners of the license are Wintershall Norge AS (operator) 35%, Capricorn Norge AS 20%, Bayerngas Norge AS 20%, Edison International Norway 15%, and RWE Dea Norge AS 10%.

Press Release, January 15, 2014