Operations have been concluded on Statoil’s Ellida wildcat in the Norwegian Sea after a production test was carried out with the oil discovery.
This trial shows that the well has poor production properties, reports Kent Høgseth, exploration manager for the deepwater sector of the Norwegian Sea.
Drilling of the 6405/7-1 well in production licence 281 was completed in September after a 52-metre oil column had been encountered in Cretaceous sandstones.
Cores were taken and an extensive data-gathering programme pursued. The well flowed about 250 barrels of oil per day through a 14.3 millimetre choke during testing.
“This low production rate underlines the uncertainty which prevails about the commerciality of the discovery,” observes Mr Høgseth.
“More wells will be needed to determine the resources in place more accurately and to assess opportunities for recovering them.”
All collected data will be subject to extensive analysis, and it could be relevant to drill a new well on the prospect next summer.
The discovery well has now been permanently plugged and abandoned.
In addition to Statoil with 30 per cent, the licensees in Ellida are BP 20 per cent, Petoro 20 per cent, Norske Shell 20 per cent and ConocoPhillips 10 per cent.