OKEA ASA will become operator of the Vette oil discovery, effective Jan. 1, 2021, following an agreement to acquire the 40% operated working interest in North Sea production license 972 from Repsol Norge AS.
The discovery, in Block 17/12, lies in water depth of 110 m in the southeastern part of the North Sea. OKEA estimates recoverable volumes of 30-50 MMboe.
“We view Vette as the most likely candidate for a profitable small field standalone development on the NCS which can benefit a common infrastructure with similar size fields, like Grevling,” said Erik Haugane, OKEA chief executive officer.
OKEA has been working on a development plan for its similarly sized Grevling field (operator, 35%) in production license 038 D. The discovery lies the central part of the North Sea 15 km south of Sleipner Øst field in water depth of 90 m. It was proven by well 15/12-21 in 2009, and delineated by wells 15/12-21 A, 15/12-23, and 15/12-23 A. The discovery is situated above a large salt structure and the reservoir contains oil in sandstone of Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic age in the Skagerrak, Bryne, Sleipner, and Hugin formations. Grevling and Vette may jointly constitute a coordinated serial development, OKEA said.
ONE-Dyas Norge AS and M Vest Energy AS each hold a 30% working interest in PL 972, which also includes the Mackerel and Brisling discoveries.
The transaction is subject to approval from license partners and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.