Equinor Energy AS drilled a dry hole in wildcat well 7018/5-1 on PL 960, about 100 km southwest of Snohvit field and about 195 km west of Hammerfest in 307 m of water.
The primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Early Jurassic to Middle Jurassic age (Stø and Nordmela formations). The secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic age (Tubåen formation).
The exploration well—the first in the license—was drilled by the West Hercules drilling rig to a vertical depth of 1,099 m subsea. It was terminated in the Stø formation. The well encountered two water-bearing sandstone intervals in the Stø formation with a total thickness of 180 m, with good reservoir properties. The well did not reach the bottom of the lowest sandstone interval in the Stø formation, nor the Nordmela and Tubåen formations.
Weak traces of petroleum were observed in the sandstones in the Stø Formation, and the well has been classified as dry. The well will now be permanently plugged.
The rig will now drill a pilot well on Equinor-operated Askeladden field in Barents Sea PL 064.
Equinor is operator in PL 960 (40%) with partners Lundin Energy Norway AS (20%), Petoro AS (20%), and Wintershall Dea Norge AS (20%).