The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate had seven shallow wells drilled in the northeastern Barents Sea in fall 2015, resulting in 1,000 m of stratigraphic drill cores to help assess the resource base.
The area is not open for petroleum activity. NPD did not disclose the well depths.
Meter by meter, the cores are being examined and registered in the NPD “core store” in Stavanger. NPD said the cores provide “a quick overview of rock types and sedimentary structures.”
Containing source and reservoir rocks, the cores measure 5-7 cm in diameter and are split lengthwise. They are being studied with a magnifying glass, tape measure, and hydrochloric acid.
“Once these studies have been completed, we will understand much more about the geology in these sea areas,” said Andreas Bjornestad, a geologist who participated in the drilling expedition with the vessel Bucentaur (OGJ Online, Feb. 28, 2013).
The cores were initially brought to the NPD core store in Trondheim, where three consultants readied them for descriptions. In April, they were moved to Stavanger, which holds samples and drill cuttings from nearly all exploration and production wells drilled on the Norwegian shelf. The vast majority of those drill cores are from reservoir rocks, NPD said.
