Det norske oljeselskap is to plug and abandon its exploration well on the Langlitinden prospect after getting disappointing results.
The well was the first well in Barents Sea production license 659. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said the well, 7222/11-2, discovered oil, but in much poorer reservoir quality than expected.
The well was drilled about 80km northeast of the Snøhvit field and about 160km northwest of Hammerfest, using the Transocean Barents semisubmersible (pictured).
The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Middle Triassic (Kobbe formation).
The well encountered a gross oil column of about 30m in the Kobbe formation, of which about 20m was in sandstone with much poorer reservoir quality than expected. Several thin layers of sandstone were also encountered deeper in the Kobbe formation, but these were tight.
The poor reservoir properties made it impossible to establish gradients from the pressure measurements, the NPD said. Therefore, no oil/water contact was encountered. Preliminary assessments indicate that the discovery is not commercially interesting.
Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. A formation test (mini-DST) was performed, but revealed very poor flow properties. The license was awarded in APA 2011.
The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 2918m below the sea surface, and was terminated in the Klappmyss formation from the Early Triassic. The water depth is 338m. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.
The Transocean Barents will now move to production licence 607 to drill wildcat well 7218/8-1, where GDF SUEZ E&P Norge is the operator.
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