Equinor confirms new discovery on Norwegian shelf
Equinor has found oil in exploration well 6407/1-9 – Egyptian Vulture in the Norwegian Sea. Preliminary estimates show that between 3 and 10 million standard cu m of recoverable oil equivalent have been proven in the well, corresponding to 19-62 million BOE.
“Our ambition is to transform the shelf from an oil and gas province to a broad energy province that will ensure value creation from the shelf in the decades to come. In this ambition, our exploration activities are central,” said Kristin Westvik, Area Director for Exploration and Production North at Equinor.
The discovery is the sixth Equinor has made on the Norwegian shelf so far this year.
The well was drilled about 10 km north of the Tyrihans field and 23 km east of the Kristin field in the Norwegian Sea. The aim of the well was to detect hydrocarbons in sandstone reservoirs of the late Cretaceous age in the Lange formation.
Well 6407/1-9 was drilled vertically to a measured depth of 3,883 m below sea level and encountered an estimated 36 m of oil column in sandstone in the Lange formation, of which 13 m are sandstones with poor to moderate reservoir quality. Oil down to 3719.5 m below sea level was detected in the well. The oil-water contact was not encountered. Water depth at the site is 301 m.
Extensive data collection and sampling has been performed. The preliminary analysis of the MDT samples indicates a light oil.
This is the first exploration well in production license 939. The license was awarded in APA 2017.
The discovery will be evaluated for further appraisal and assessed for tie back to existing fields in the area. The well will be permanently plugged and abandoned.
Well 6407 / 1-9 was drilled by Seadrill‘s West Hercules semisubmersible, which will now drill exploration well 35 / 10-7 S Toppand in production license 630 in the North Sea, where Equinor is the operator.
