Wellesley Confirms New Discovery in Norwegian North Sea
Wellesley Petroleum AS and its partners have completed an appraisal well for the Carmen natural gas and condensate discovery on Norway's side of the North Sea.
Preliminary calculations for the discovery indicate recoverable resources of 3.4-17 million cubic meters (120.07-600.35 million cubic feet) of oil equivalent, or 21-107 million barrels of oil equivalent, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) said in a press release.
Well 35/10-16 S, which appraised well 35/10-10 S, was drilled 25 kilometers (15.53 miles) northwest of the Troll field, which started production 1995, and 35 kilometers east of the Kvitebjørn field, which went onstream 2004, the upstream regulator said. Both nearby fields are operated by majority state-owned Equinor ASA.
"[T]he licensees will explore opportunities to develop 'Carmen' back to existing infrastructure in the area", the NOD said. "Additional wildcat wells may also be drilled".
The appraisal drilling, conducted by the Odfjell Drilling Ltd-managed Deepsea Yantai rig, aimed to delineate wells 35/10-10 S and 35/10-10 A, drilled in 2023.
"These wellbores encountered hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir rocks in the Ness, Etive and Oseberg formations (the Brent Group) from the Middle Jurassic, in addition to hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir rocks in the Cook Formation from the Early Jurassic", the NOD said.
"A 14.6-meter [47.9 feet] gas/condensate column was encountered in the lower part of the Ness Formation, with reservoir rocks of poor to very good quality. The gas/water contact was not encountered.
"In the Etive Formation, a 41.3-meter gas/condensate column was encountered in reservoir rocks of poor to moderate reservoir quality. The gas/water contact was not encountered.
"In the Oseberg Formation, a 5-meter gas/condensate column was encountered in reservoir rocks of poor to moderate reservoir quality. The gas/water contact was encountered at 3966 meters below sea level.
"In the Cook Formation, reservoir rocks with poor to moderate reservoir properties and a thickness of 31.6 meters were encountered. The reservoir was aquiferous with hydrocarbon shows.
"The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 4153 meters below sea level in the Amundsen Formation".
This is the third well drilled in production license (PL) 1148, awarded 2022, according to the NOD.
Wellesley operates the license with a 30 percent stake. Equinor and DNO Norge AS also each own 30 percent. Aker BP ASA holds 10 percent.
The rig will now drill well 35/7-2 to appraise the Afrodite discovery in PL293, the NOD said. Equinor-operated PL293 is also in the Norwegian North Sea.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the
Rigzone Energy Network.
The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy.