The PL501 group led by Lundin Norway AS will sidetrack an exploratory well on the Torvastad prospect just north of the Johan Sverdrup discovery in the North Sea offshore Norway.
The 16/2-20S Torvastad well went to 2,070 m below mean sea level into basement rocks. It found a Lower Cretaceous/Upper Jurassic sequence of 24 m with poor reservoir properties above a water-bearing Upper Jurassic Draupne sandstone sequence of 10 m of excellent quality in a 14-m gross sequence.
The 24-m Lower Cretaceous/Upper Jurassic reservoir was found according to depth prognosis but is thicker than expected. As a consequence, the Draupne sandstone came in deeper than expected. The water-bearing Upper Jurassic Draupne sandstone appears to be the same sequence encountered in all Johan Sverdrup wells.
The well’s main objectives were to prove the presence of oil-bearing Lower Cretaceous/Upper Jurassic sandstone and to determine whether the Torvastad structure was in communication with the Johan Sverdrup discovery.
The licensees will drill a sidetrack 770 m west of the 16/2-20S target location to investigate the potential of an upflank continuous Draupne sandstone and to establish an oil-water contact. Sidetracking should take 20 days.
PL501 interests are Lundin Norway and Statoil Petroleum AS 40% each and Maersk Oil Norway AS 20%.
