Norway's state-run Statoil has made an oil discovery off northern Norway and is to start a three-well, three-month UK exploration campaign this month, it said July 3.

The Transocean Spitsbergen semi-submersible drillrig will spud the first well in the new UK campaign, starting early July. It will test three very different opportunities that could "add value to existing projects and also provide the resources necessary for new developments on the UK continental shelf,” said vice president for exploration, UK, Jenny Morris.

The first well, Mariner Segment 9, could prove additional resources and increase the extent of the Mariner oil field. After completing the well, expected to take between 15 and 25 days, the rig will move to Jock Scott, a prospect on the under-explored margins of the Viking Graben. The well is expected to be completed in 20-40 days.

The last well of the campaign will be the Verbier opportunity in the Moray Firth area. The well is assumed to take 30-70 days to complete.

“We have three exciting wells to test with a proven and efficient rig that will enable us to continue to develop our understanding of the full exploration potential of this mature basin and hopefully add new commercial reserves to our UK portfolio,” says Morris.

Statoil finds more oil in Barents Sea

Statoil also announced an oil discovery in the Johan Castberg licence area in the Barents Sea on licence PL532. The new discovery has been made via the well 7219/9-2, drilled in 336m of WD in the Kayak prospect. Partners are Statoil as operator with 50%, Eni 30% and state Petoro 20%. The well is 23km southwest of the discovery well of Johan Castberg and 226 kilometers northwest Hammerfest. 

The Kayak well in the Barents Sea found between 25mn and 50mn barrels of recoverable oil equivalents and Statoil is now considering the development of the discovery using the Johan Castberg field. “There may be additional resources in this structure, and we will now analyse the acquired data and consider possible appraisal of the discovery,” it said. It told NGW that it was still appraising the drilling results but, like Johan Castberg, it is considered an oil discovery. The Songa Enabler drillrig drilled the well.

Eni is already operator of the Goliat oilfield in the Barents Sea on licence PL229; it has a 65% stake while Statoil holds the remaining 35%.

William Powell