Premier Oil spudded the Bagpuss heavy oil exploration well in the Moray Firth in the UK North Sea on 18 July, using the Ocean Valiant drilling rig, says partner North Sea Energy.
Drilling results are expected in early August. The well is to be drilled to approximately 1550ft subsurface to evaluate the prospectivity of the reservoir interval beneath the Chalk and above the granite basement.
Back in 2013, when the company farmed into the Bagpuss acreage, Premier’s analysis of the 1981 discovery well result, which was not cored or tested, suggested that the Bagpuss and the nearby Blofeld heavy oil prospects together could contain up to 2 billion bbl in place. Analysts at Wood Mackenzie say a discovery here could open up a new play.
The joint venture partners in the Bagpuss prospect are Maersk Oil UK (25%), NSE (15%), Premier Oil (40.1%), EnCounter Oil (13.27%) and Groliffe (6.63%).