The 6406/3-10 A appraisal well will be drilled approximately 8km west of the Maria field, offshore Norway
NPD grants drilling permit to Wintershall Dea for the 6406/3-10 A appraisal well in production licence 836 S. (Credit: Keri Jackson from Pixabay)
Wintershall Dea has been granted a drilling permit by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) for the appraisal well 6406/3-10 A at the Bergknapp prospect in the Norwegian Sea.
The German gas and oil company made an oil discovery at the Bergknapp prospect in production licence 836 S in April 2020, through the drilling of the wildcat well 6406/3-10. The Bergknapp discovery was made nearly 8km west of the Maria field.
The company, through its subsidiary Wintershall Dea Norge, has an operating stake of 40% in production licence 836 S.
According to NPD, the appraisal well of the Bergknapp discovery will be drilled by using the Deepsea Aberdeen rig.
Prior to this, the vessel will complete the drilling of the 6507/4-2 S wildcat well for Wintershall Dea Norge in production licence 211, offshore Norway.
The 6406/3-10 A appraisal well will also be drilled approximately 8km west of the Maria field, and 200km north of Kristiansund.
The permit from NPD is subject to the company getting all other permits and consents needed from other authorities before launching the drilling activity.
In production licence 836 S, Wintershall Dea is partnered by DNO Norge (30%) and Spirit Energy Norway (30%). The licence was awarded in February 2016 during the Awards in Pre-defined Areas (APA) 2015.
Drilled by the Scarabeo 8 drilling rig, the 6406/3-10 well intersected an oil column of at least 60m in the Garn Formation and an oil column of at least 120m in the Tilje Formation.
Preliminary estimates of the Bergknapp discovery indicate it to contain 4-15 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents or 26-97 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Wintershall Dea and its partners are mulling a tieback of the discovery to existing infrastructure in the region.