Equinor Finds Gas with Norwegian Wildcat
Norwegian state run Equinor found gas and condensate with a wildcat well drilled in production licence 199, it said January 16. The well was drilled about 22 km south of the Kristin field in the Norwegian Sea and 195 km northwest of Kristiansund. The find was not large at between 6 and 25mn barrels of oil equivalent and the rocks are poor to moderate quality for production purposes so the company is deciding on next steps.
But the company was upbeat: "“We are pleased to start the new year by announcing a new discovery. Exploring for resources close to existing infrastructure is a central part of Equinor’s strategy to further develop the Norwegian continental shelf," it said.
"“The Ragnfrid North discovery will increase the probability of discovery for other prospects and pave the way for more drilling operations in this central part of the Norwegian Sea. This is something we will consider going forward while further analysing the results. The NCS still offers great potential,” it said.
The licence partners will now evaluate the discovery for development and tie-in to the Kristin field and further maturing of the Kristin South project, Equinor said.
The primary exploration target for the well had been to prove petroleum in Middle to Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks. The secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks and in the Lower Jurassic, in the event of discovery in the overlying Tofte formation.
Well 6406/2-9 S was drilled by the West Phoenix drilling facility, which will now drill a wildcat well in the UK sector with Equinor as operator. Its partners were French Total andUS major ExxonMobil, as well as the state's wholly-owned Petoro.