A well drilled 25 kilometers north of the Duva field found a gas column, with preliminary volumes estimated between 0.15 and 2.4 million standard cubic metres of oil equivalent, or 1 to 15 million barrels, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate said.
Well 36/4-2 is the first exploration well in production licence 1153, awarded in APA 2021. Aker BP holds a 40 percent stake in the licence. Inpex Idemitsu holds 30 percent, Okea holds 20 percent, and Harbour Energy holds 10 percent.
| Licensee | Stake |
|---|---|
| Aker BP | 40% |
| Inpex Idemitsu | 30% |
| Okea | 20% |
| Harbour Energy | 10% |
The Scarabeo 8 rig drilled the well into the 'Alpehumle' prospect, targeting reservoir rocks from the Early Cretaceous Agat Formation. Water depth at the site is 255 metres.
What the wells found
Well 36/4-2 reached a vertical depth of 2,250 metres below sea level before terminating in basement rock. It encountered a 10-metre gas column in the Agat Formation, all of it in sandstone with very good reservoir quality. The hydrocarbon/water contact was not proven.
A sidetrack, well 36/4-2 A, was drilled to delineate the discovery and locate that contact. It reached 2,320 metres below sea level and terminated in an unidentified formation. It found 4 metres of sandstone with very good reservoir quality, but the reservoir was aquiferous, meaning it held water rather than hydrocarbons. The licensees carried out extensive data acquisition and sampling in both wells.
Next steps
The licensees will assess the well results to determine whether the discovery is economically profitable and whether it warrants further delineation. Both wells will be permanently plugged and abandoned.
We reported last month that Equinor and Aker BP reported a gas and condensate find near Norway's Balder field.
