The Kraken 9/02b-5 pilot appraisal well on UK North Sea Block 9/2b has encountered oil in the Heimdal III sandstone, and the group led by Nautical Petroleum PLC plans to drill a horizontal sidetrack as long as 600 m.
The well went to 4,785 ft measured depth to target an area of strong amplitude anomalies interpreted on colored inversion seismic data. It topped Heimdal III at 4,168 ft MD, and the overall sand interval has a gross thickness of 145 ft.
The well exceeded expectations with a thicker net oil pay than expected. Preliminary log evaluation indicates 94 ft true vertical thickness of calculated net oil pay, the field’s thickest yet, with 38% average porosity and 78% average oil saturation of 78%. No oil-water contract was found, as prognosed.
The net oil pay correlates with the seismic, providing increased confidence for using these seismic techniques to select development well locations, Nautical Petroleum said.
The sidetrack is to take 40 days and be completed with a gravel pack and tested on an electric submersible pump. The sidetrack aims to prove a commercial flow rate on contingent resources of 83 million bbl of oil net to Nautical.
Nautical operates the block with 50% interest. Celtic Oil Ltd., a subsidiary of First Oil Expro Ltd., has 30%, and Canamens Energy North Sea Ltd. has 20%.
