Aker BP ASA plans to evaluate a natural gas discovery well drilled in Upper Triassic reservoir rocks 175 km northwest of Hammerfest in the Barents Sea.
Wildcat well 7221/12-1, drilled 20 km west of the 7222/11-2 discovery well (Langlitinden), encountered a 20-m total gas column in the upper part of the Snadd formation, of which a total of 7 m of sandstone layers with good to moderate reservoir quality. The gas-water contact was encountered about 555 m below the sea surface.
The second exploration well in Aker BP-operated production license 659 was drilled to a vertical depth of 700 m subsea and was terminated in the Snadd formation in the Upper Triassic. Water depth at the site is 346 m.
Preliminary results from gas samples indicate that the gas may be in the gas-hydrate phase. Attempts will be made to clarify through further analysis. If there is free gas in the reservoir, the preliminary estimate places the size of the discovery at 2-3.5 billion standard cu m of recoverable gas. The discovery is not considered to be commercial at this time.
The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been conducted. It will be permanently plugged and abandoned. The licensees will assess the results from the well in the further evaluation of the area.
Deepsea Stavanger will now drill appraisal well 25/4-12 S in production license 203 in the North Sea, where Aker BP ASA is the operator.
