A promising discovery has been made by Statoil in the Falk structure 20 kilometres north-east of its Norne field in the Norwegian Sea.
Exploration well 6608/11-2 was drilled by the West Navion ship in 350 metres of water and terminated just over 2,200 metres below sea level.
Located 175 kilometres off the Norwegian coast, this well proved oil in early Jurassic sands. However, the size of the find remains uncertain.
One aim of the well was to determine whether a connection exists between Falk and the neighbouring Svale deposit, explains Roger Inge Johansen, exploration manager for the Nordland area.
"We believe there may a link, but a delineation well must be drilled before we can establish this."
Logging and core sampling are now under way to analyse the discovery and the type of crude. But the licensees have decided against a production test because the data appears to be sufficient.
Several promising prospects have been identified in this area, and Mr Johansen says the latest well encourages optimism about structures north and east of Falk.
Statoil has 40 per cent of production licence 128, with the state's direct financial interest (SDFI) holding 25 per cent, Norsk Hydro 13.5, Agip 11.5 and Enterprise Oil 10.