Lundin Petroleum completes drilling and production testing of Alta appraisal well in Barents Sea

Swedish oil company Lundin Petroleum, through its subsidiary Lundin Norway AS (Lundin Norway) has completed the drilling and production testing of Alta appraisal well 7220/11-4 (Alta-4) located about 2.5km in PL609 in the southern Barents Sea.

Lundin says that the main intention behind the drilling was to further appraise the Alta discovery and to provide a calibration point to drill a horizontal well for an extended well test plan scheduled for 2018.

The well produced gross hydrocarbon column of 48 meters along with 4 meters of gas and 44 meters of oil in a sequence of Permian-Triassic clastic carbonate sediments.

Lundin claims to have gathered extensive data and sampling in the reservoir including conventional coring and fluid sampling.

Pressure data showed that same fluid contacts and gradients were observed in previous wells drilled on the Alta discovery, which confirmed good communication across the large Alta structure.

Production test was carried out in the oil zone, which produced a stabilised rate of 6050 barrels of oil per day in low pressure drawdown and constrained by rig testing facilities.

The company also claims that the test also confirmed good reservoir and good lateral continuity within the Permian-Triassic clastic reservoirs.

Lundin plans to drill a geological sidetrack about 900 metres north of the Alta-4 well to help in the placement of a horizontal well for an extended well test for next year’s planned test.

Lundin Petroleum CEO and President Alex Schneiter said: “I am pleased with the good well results from Alta-4 which confirm very good reservoir properties, communication across the large Alta structure and excellent production rates.

“We will now proceed to plan a possible extended well test for 2018, which is the next step in moving the significant Alta discovery towards development.”

According to the company, the well was drilled using a semi-submersible drilling rig Leiv Eiriksson which was followed by the completion of Alta-4 sidetrack well will proceed to drill the Børselv prospect, also located in PL609.