Statoil has made a small discovery about 5.5km west of the Oseberg South field in the central part of the Norwegian North Sea.
The primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Lower and Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Tarbert formation and upper part of the Statfjord group). The secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks (lower part of the Statfjord group).
The well encountered an approx. 20m gas column, of which 10m were in sandstone with good reservoir quality in the Tarbert formation. The gas/water contact in the Tarbert formation has been estimated at 2870m based on pressure data. In the Statfjord group, the well encountered a 12m gas column in sandstone with moderate reservoir quality. The gas/water contact was proven at 3506m. The secondary exploration target in the lower part of the Statfjord group is aquiferous.
Preliminary estimation of the size of the discovery is between one and two million standard cubic meters (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents. The discovery will be considered for development as part of the “Oseberg Future Phase 2” project.
The well was not formation-tested, but data acquisition and sampling were carried out.
This is the 24th exploration well drilled in production license 104. The well was drilled to a measured and vertical depth of 4083 and 3928m below the sea surface, respectively, and was terminated in the Statfjord group in the Lower Jurassic. Water depth is 99m. The well is now being permanently plugged and abandoned.
Well 30/9-28 S was drilled by the Songa Delta drilling facility, which will now proceed to drill a shallow gas pilot, 30/6-U-27 in production license 053, where Statoil Petroleum is the operator.