Dana Petroleum has said that it is currently well advanced in the drilling of both the Bamboo prospect offshore in the Nile delta, Egypt (Dana 50% interest) and the Lorcan exploration well in the North Zeit Bay concession in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt (Dana 100%).
Dana expects the Anne Marie well in the Faroe Islands to commence drilling within the next month. The company holds a direct 25% interest in the Anne Marie well. Faroe Petroleum, in which Dana has a 27.2% stake, also holds a 12.5% interest in Anne Marie.
The Anne Marie well follows on from recent success in the UK West of Shetland area, including the two discoveries at Tornado and Glenlivet in the second half of 2009, the company said.
In addition, Det norske oljeselskap, the operator of production license 337, has completed the drilling of exploration well 15/12-22 with the semi-submersible rig Bredford Dolphin. The other participating companies are Dana Petroleum, Wintershall and Bridge Energy.
The well is located between the Sleipner- and Varg Fields approximately 240km west of Stavanger, and only 7km south-east of the recent Grevling oil discovery, well 15/12-21/21A.
The well objective was to prove hydrocarbons in Jurassic and Upper Triassic reservoir rocks (Vestland- and Hegre Groups). The well proved very good reservoir development, but the sands were not hydrocarbon-bearing. No hydrocarbons were encountered in the Lower Tertiary, the company added.
The well was the third to be drilled in production license 337, which was awarded after APA 2004 December 17th 2004. The well was drilled to a total depth of 3035mt subsea, and was completed in Triassic rocks (Skagerrak Formation). The water depth at the location is 83.5mt. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.