An appraisal well on Statoil's Rimfaks satellite near Gullfaks in the North Sea has led to an upgrading of the field's reserves.
Originally thought to contain about 80 million barrels of recoverable oil, the field is now expected to yield almost 100 million barrels.
This revision follows the drilling of well 34/10-J-2H, reports Per Kristian Krogh, petroleum technology manager for the Gullfaks area.
"The indications from our preliminary work were confirmed," he explains. "This part of southern Rimfaks was shown to contain oil and the oil-bearing zones in the field proved thicker than we had previously established."
A new production well to tap the oil in this part of the field was spudded 12 August, and will be ready to come on stream in November-December – giving a six-month gap between discovery and output.
The Rimfaks, Gullfaks South and Gullveig satellites are tied back to the Gullfaks A and C platforms and currently produce roughly 125,000 barrels per day between them.