Lundin's Barents Sea Well Comes Up Dry

Oil and gas company Lundin Energy has drilled a dry well at its production license 533 B, in the Barents Sea, offshore Norway.

The exploration well, formally named 7219/11-1, was drilled around 40 kilometers southwest of the Johan Castberg field, 35 kilometers northwest of the 7220/11-1 (Alta) oil/gas discovery and 225 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest.

The exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks in the lower part of the Torsk Formation from the Early to Middle Palaeocene Age.

"The well encountered a sandstone layer approx. 90 meters thick, mainly with poor reservoir quality. There are traces of petroleum. The well is classified as dry. Data was collected," the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said Tuesday.

This is the first exploration well in production license 533 B. The license was awarded in APA 2017. Lundin used the West Bollsta semi-submersible drilling rig to drill the well.

According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the well was drilled to a vertical depth of 1982 meters below sea level and was terminated in the Kolmule Formation from the Early Cretaceous Age. The water depth at the site is 305.5 meters. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

The West Bollsta drilling rig will now proceed to production license 359 in the central part of the North Sea to drill the exploration well 16/4-13 S, where Lundin Energy Norway AS is the operator.