By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 24 -- Statoil ASA has started drilling appraisal well 6506/11-8 on the Morvin structure in the Norwegian Sea.
Morvin is an oil discovery on the Halten Terrace. Smedvig's West Alpha semisubmersible is drilling the appraisal.
The well, expected to take just over 4 months to drill, will be drilled to 4,800 m subsea. Morvin lies in 380 m of water on Production License 134b, about 10 km from Statoil-operated Kristin field. Like Kristin, Morvin is a high-pressure, high-temperature reservoir.
A Statoil wildcat found light crude at the top of the Morvin structure in 2001.
If proved commercial, Morvin could be a subsea development phased in to Kristin or Asgard, Statoil said.
Statoil has a 50% interest in PL 134b. The other licensees are Eni SPA 30%, Norsk Hydro AS 14%, and Total SA 6%.
