Deepwater gas discovery

  
Preliminary estimates put the proven recoverable volume, which is located 80 kilometres west of the Luva gas discovery, at about 16 billion cubic metres (100 million barrels of oil equivalent).

“This represents one of the bigger discoveries off Norway in recent years, and we’re very pleased with the result,” says Tove Stuhr Sjøblom, StatoilHydro’s head of Norwegian exploration.

The resources are located in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks. No formation test was carried out, but extensive data gathering and coring took place in the reservoir.

“The well has proved a new play, and found gas in rocks with good reservoir properties,” comments Frode Fasteland, exploration manager for the Norwegian Sea. “This opens exciting opportunities for further exploration in the area.

“Asterix will be considered for development together with Luva and the other nearby discoveries of Haklang and Snefrid South. That could help to lay the basis for a deepwater gas infrastructure in the Norwegian Sea.”

In addition to StatoilHydro as operator, with 70%, licensees in production licence 327B are Petoro with 20% and Norske Shell with 10%.

Facts: Exploration well 6705/10-1 is the first in production licence 327B, which was awarded as supplementary acreage in the 18th licensing round during 2007. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,775 metres below sea level. It terminated in late Cretaceous rocks. The water depth is 1,360 metres. The well has now been permanently plugged and abandoned. Drilling was done by Transocean Leader, which will now be redeployed to production licence 035B/362 in the North Sea to drill a delineation well on the Fulla structure with StatoilHydro as operator.