The discovery was made at the wildcat well 6506/5-1 S located about 50km southwest of the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea
The Well 6506/5-1 S was drilled using the Deepsea Nordkapp drilling facility. (Credit: Pixabay/C Morrison)
Norwegian oil exploration and development company Aker BP has made gas discovery at the wildcat well 6506/5-1 S in the production licence 1008 located in the Norwegian Sea.
The well, which was drilled about 50km southwest of the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea and 210km west of Brønnøysund, was intended to prove the presence of petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks (the Lysing Formation).
The well was drilled using Deepsea Nordkapp drilling facility to a measured depth of 3225m and a vertical depth of 3166m below sea level.
Following drilling, the well 6506/5-1 S encountered a total gas column of about 15m in the Lysing Formation, of which 10m of sandstones is claimed to be very good reservoir quality.
Additionally, the firm identified about 25m of net water-bearing reservoir rocks deeper in the Lysing Formation, mainly of moderate reservoir quality.
Discovery ranges between 1.0 and 2.4 billion Sm3 of recoverable gas
According to preliminary estimates, the size of the discovery ranges between 1.0 and 2.4 billion standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable gas.
Terminated in the Lange Formation in the Lower Cretaceous, the well was not formation-tested and has been temporarily plugged and abandoned. Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been conducted.
Aker BP operates the production licence 1008 with 60% interest while Wellesley Petroleum owns the remaining 40% stake.
The licensees are planning to assess the discovery together with nearby prospects for further follow-up.
Additionally, the Deepsea Nordkapp drilling facility will drill observation well 25/4-K-7 H on the Aker BP-operated Alvheim field in the central part of the North Sea.
Earlier this year, Aker BP has secured consent from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) for the start-up of the Skogul field in the North Sea.