VNG Norge AS, operator of production licence 586, is in the process of completing the drilling of wildcat well 6406/12-3 S. The well has been drilled about 35 kilometres southwest of the Njord field in the Norwegian Sea.
The well's primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Rogn and Melke formations).
A 226-metre net hydrocarbon column was encountered, 135 meters of which are oil in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks with good reservoir quality. The lower part of the Melke formation is aquiferous, with poorer reservoir properties as in the upper part.
Comprehensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. A successful formation test was carried out in the oil zone. The maximum production rate was 1067 Sm3 of oil per flow day through a 56/64-inch nozzle. The test proved good flow properties and the gas/oil rate is 152 Sm3/Sm3.
The preliminary estimation of the discovery size is between 6 and 21 million Sm3 of recoverable oil and condensate and between 2 and 6 billion Sm3 of recoverable gas.
The well is the first exploration well in production licence 586. The licence was awarded in APA 2010. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3738 metres below sea level and terminated in the Melke formation in the Middle Jurassic. Water depth at the site is 324 metres. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.
Well 6406/12-3 S was drilled by Transocean Arctic, which is now moving on to drill appraisal well 6406/12-3 B on the discovery to reduce uncertainty in the resource estimate.
Contact in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate
Eldbjørg Vaage Melberg, tel. +47 51 87 61 00