UK North Sea-focused oil and gas company Ithaca Energy said Thursday it had discovered hydrocarbons at its K2 prospect, located in Block 22/14c of the Central North Sea of the UK Continental Shelf.
Upon entering the reservoir, Ithaca Energy, acting as the operator, discovered that hydrocarbons were present in the reservoir in the Forties member sandstones, with 45 feet of net thickness, Ithaca Energy said.
According to Ithaca Energy, logs were acquired to establish reservoir quality, and further analysis of the well results will be performed to determine future activity and the recoverable resources estimate.
Ithaca Energy, together with its joint venture partner, has decided to perform an appraisal sidetrack following these encouraging results in the main bore.
Dana Petroleum and Ithaca Energy each own a 50% working interest in the license.
Alan Bruce, Chief Executive Officer of Ithaca Energy, said: "I am delighted to report encouraging well results at K2, located in close proximity to existing infrastructure, further enhancing our portfolio."
Ithaca Energy is using Stena Drilling's Stena Spey semi-submersible drilling rig for K2 Drilling.
The water depth at the drilling site is 294 feet (approximately 90 meters), and Ithaca in January said that the final planned depth of the K2 drilling would be 9,000 feet (approximately 2,743 meters).,
In a social media post, energy industry intelligence group Welligence Energy Analytics said that the Repsol-operated Montrose hub, 25km southwest of K2, "is arguably the most likely tie-back host given Ithaca's interest in both K2 and the hub."
"Ongoing drilling at the hub is expected to keep the facility open into the 2030s. Should volumes in K2 prove to be too small to stand alone, development speed will be of the essence in order to maximize recovery prior to the cessation of Montrose," Welligence Energy Analytics said.