Results from a sidetrack indicate 300-600 million bbl of recoverable oil at the Statoil-Husky Bay du Nord discovery in the remote Flemish Pass basin offshore Atlantic Canada, and the companies have identified more prospective resources that require further delineation.
Bay du Nord, in 1,100 m of water on EL 1112 about 500 km northeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, is the combine’s third discovery in the basin. Recoverables are estimated at 100-200 million bbl at the Mizzen discovery, while the Harpoon discovery is still under evaluation.
The Bay du Nord well encountered light 34° gravity oil and excellent Jurassic reservoirs with high porosity and high permeability (OGJ Online, Aug. 27, 2013). The basin, nonproducing as yet, has the potential to become a core producing area for Statoil beyond 2020, said Tim Dodson, executive vice-president of Statoil Exploration.
Dodson said, “With only a few wells drilled in a large licensed area totaling about 8,500 sq km, more work is required. This will involve new seismic as well as additional exploration and appraisal drilling to confirm these estimates before the partnership can decide on an optimal development solution in this frontier basin.”
All three discoveries are about the same water depth. The two companies discovered Mizzen in 2009 and Harpoon earlier this year. Interests in the three discoveries are Statoil operator with 65% and Husky Energy 35%.