RWE has oil find near remote North Sea hub

Dec. 8, 2010
RWE Dea Norge AS reported an oil discovery it termed “promising” at the Titan prospect near Gjoa field in the North Sea off Norway.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 8
-- RWE Dea Norge AS reported an oil discovery it termed “promising” at the Titan prospect near Gjoa field in the North Sea off Norway.

The 35/9-6 S well on the Titan prospect found oil in a 435-m column in the Heather formation, the Brent Group, the Drake formation, and the Cook formation. The company said each reservoir is in a different pressure regime. The well found no oil-water contact.

Preliminary estimates of discovery size are 2 to 10 million cu m of oil equivalent, mostly oil. Minidrillstem tests indicated reservoir quality variations.

The well is in Production License 420 some 96 km northwest of Mongstad and 16 km west of Gjoa oil and gas field, where production began Nov. 7. Gjoa, operated since start-up by GDF Suez E&P Norge, serves as a hub for production from the nearby Vega fields and is likely to host production from other fields during its expected 30-year life (see map, OGJ, Oct. 4, 2010, p. 59).

The Bredford Dolphin semisubmersible drilled the Titan well, which will be permanently plugged, to 3,664 m in Upper Triassic rocks in 370 m of water.

Titan is the first well on the license, and appraisal is needed, the company said. RWE believes the license has further exploration potential.

License interests are RWE Dea Norge operator with 30%, Statoil 40%, and Idemitsu 30%.

Another RWE Dea Norge group made a gas-condensate discovery earlier this year when the 6507/07-14S Zidane well in PL 435 15 km northwest of Heidrun field found 5-18 bscm of gas in the Fangst Group. It was the first exploratory well on that license, and RWE said the possibility of finding more hydrocarbons there is good.