Aker BP ASA drilled a dry exploration well in the Svarteknippa prospect in the North Sea, 15 km west of Solveig field and 220 km west of Stavanger.

Well 15/6-17, the first exploration in production license (PL) 979, was drilled in 102 m of water by the Scarabeo 8 drilling rig to 3,704 m TVD below sea level. It was terminated in the Smith Bank Formation in the Triassic.

The objective of the well was to prove hydrocarbons from the Middle Jurassic in the Hugin and Sleipner formations. The secondary exploration target was to prove a reservoir and hydrocarbons in the Draupne and Heather formations.

The well encountered the Vestland Group near the primary exploration target. It has a thickness of 97 m, 8 m of which were sandstone with moderate to poor reservoir quality. Weak hydrocarbon indicators were recorded.

Near the secondary exploration target, the well encountered 191 m of the Draupne Formation and 104 m of the Heather formation. Reservoir rocks were not proven in these two formations.

Data acquisition was carried out, which included securing a 54-m-long core in the Vestland Group. The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.

Aker BP is operator of PL 979 (60%) with partner Equinor Energy AS (40%).