Oil and gas company Neptune Energy is increasing its stake in an offshore license in Norway which contains the Dugong oil discovery, dubbed Norway's largest oil find so far this year. The company hopes to submit the field development plan in 2022.
Neptune Energy, the operator of the license PL882 in the North Sea, has agreed to acquire a further 5% interest in the offshore block from its partners Concedo, lifting its interest in Dugong to 45%.
"The payment will be partly cash, partly carry of future cost and partly a contingent payment," Neptune said.
On completion of the transaction, the Dugong partners will be Neptune Energy (operator and 45%), Concedo (15%), Petrolia NOCO (20%) and Idemitsu Petroleum Norge (20%).
Volumes at the Dugong discovery are estimated to be in the range of 40-120 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The discovery is located 158 kilometers west of Florø, Norway, at a water depth of 330 meters, and is close to existing production facilities.
Field development plan in 2022
Neptune’s managing director in Norway, Odin Estensen, said: "This acquisition demonstrates Neptune’s belief in the Dugong discovery and the licence’s potential. We are committed to maturing the discovery and the prospects to be able to submit a Plan for Development and Production (PDO) within year-end 2022, and we look forward to continuing with our constructive partnership to achieve this milestone."
Dugong was drilled by the Deepsea Yantai, a new semi-submersible rig, owned by CIMC and operated by Odfjell Drilling.
Neptune plans to drill two more wells on PL882, an appraisal well on the Dugong discovery and an exploration well targeting the Tail prospect.
Prospective resources for the Tail prospect are currently estimated at 33 million boe. Drilling is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2021.
Neptune in August extended the contract for the Deepsea Yantai drilling rig for an additional 3 wells, taking the rig's contract to late 2021.