Shell well sets deepwater depth record on Norwegian shelf

A/S Norske Shell has completed the drilling of wildcat well 6603/12-1 in 1,376 m of water – the greatest water depth of any discovery made on the Norwegian shelf to date – the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate announced on 19 June.

The well, which encountered a 16-m gas column, is located 150 km northwest of the 6506/6-1 gas discovery (“Victoria”) in the northern Norwegian Sea. Its objective was to prove petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks in a prospect called “Gro.”

Well 6603/12-1 is located in the northern Norwegian Sea, in 1,376 m water depth.
Source: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate

There is uncertainty regarding the size of the discovery. Preliminary estimates indicate between 10 and 100 billion standard cu m of recoverable gas.

The well was not formation-tested, but extensive sampling and data acquisition have been performed. Further delineation drilling is needed in order to clarify the resource potential, including the possibility of additional volumes.

The well is the first exploration well in production licence 326, awarded in the 18th licensing round in 2004. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,805 m below the sea surface and was terminated in the Upper Cretaceous. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 6603/12-1 was drilled by the Leiv Eiriksson drilling facility, which will now conduct drilling activity outside the Norwegian shelf.