By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON -- ENI of Italy confirmed the first major oil discovery in the Norwegian Barents Sea, 85 km north of Hammerfest.
The Italian company said its Norwegian subsidiary Norsk Agip carried out confirmation tests on discovery well 7122/7-1, drilled last October in license PL229, and found a 70 m oil column. Production tests yielded 4,300 b/d of 33°-gravity crude. The appraisal is continuing.
Unofficial estimates suggest that the field could contain 175-300 million boe, suggesting recoverable reserves of 35-40 million boe.
All previous exploration wells in the Barents Sea encountered gas, and the only existing production in the area is from the Statoil-operated Snohvit field, 50 km to the south, which has led to Europe's first LNG development. Future development of the project would probably involve a fixed platform and a tanker shuttle export system.
Vittorio Mincato, ENI CEO, said, "We are very pleased with the positive results of the Goliath field, which is the first significant discovery in the Barents Sea where we have three more exploration licenses. This discovery comes on top of the successes we have been gaining in Norway since the 1960s and opens new exploration possibilities in the offshore of this area."
Norsk Agip is the operator of the field with 25% of the project. The other partners are the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, 25%; Phillips Petroleum Co., 20%; Enterprise Oil Ltd., 15%; and Finland's Fortum, 15%.
The well was first drilled last year and oil was encountered in Lower Jurassic sands. The well was not tested, but core samples and oil samples were gathered for evaluation. Goliath lies in 318 m of water and was drilled to 1,500 m TD.
John Crowle, general manager in Norway for Enterprise Oil said, "This is one of the most exciting finds in offshore Norway in recent years. It has the potential to open up a brand new oil province. We now expect the industry to renew interest in the area."
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate also said that it was encouraged by this discovery and believes there will be further opportunities in the Barents Sea.