Equinor discovers hydrocarbons near Troll
Equinor Energy AS discovered hydrocarbons in the Kveikje prospect in North Sea production license (PL) 293B 40 km from the Troll B field and 32 km from Troll C, according to partner Longboat Energy Norge AS.
Exploration well 35/10-8S, drilled by Deepsea Stavanger, was spudded on Mar. 8, and reached total vertical depth of 2,078 m subsea. Data acquisition was completed over Kveikje Main and Hordaland reservoirs which comprised logging while drilling, wireline logging, fluid sampling, and coring. Neither gas-oil contact nor oil-water contact were penetrated in Kveikje. Fluid contacts have been estimated using pressure data from the well and aquifer pressure data from nearby wells.
Kveikje Main has excellent reservoir properties, Longboat said. Preliminary on-site analysis indicates a medium density oil (30-40° API). Gas discovered in the overlying Kveikje Hordaland is interpreted to be in communication with the main reservoir and represents upside potential to the Kveikje development. The gas cap could contribute to a higher recovery factor through pressure support during the production phase and subsequently be a target for production, the company said.
Kveikje Main, the primary target, has estimated recoverable resource of 28-48 MMboe (gross), above predrill expectations.
On the deeper secondary prospects, which did not form part of the predrill estimates, indications of sand with hydrocarbons were encountered both in the Palaeocene Rokke and in the Cretaceous N’Roll.
Rokke was reached at a vertical depth of 1,877 m subsea and penetrated about 3 m of sand. N’Roll was reached at a vertical depth of 1,997 m subsea and penetrated multiple sand stringers.
Logging while drilling and coring were accomplished over the deeper secondary targets, but operational concerns near the end of drilling operations prevented wireline logging. Evaluation of Rokke and N’Roll is based on an incomplete data set and further appraisal will be required to determine size and commerciality of the potential additional resources.
Troll B and Troll C are potential host facilities for the Kveikje discovery, which will be evaluated as part of a potential Equinor-operated area development that could include area discoveries including Toppand, Swisher, Røver Nord, Echino South, and Blasto, as well as undeveloped Grosbeak field.
Equinor is operator at PL 293B (51%) with partners DNO Norge AS (29%), INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS (10%), and Longboat Energy (10%).
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).