Eni sees busy drilling year in Barents offshore Norway
Eni Norge AS looks to a busy drilling year in the Barents Sea offshore northern Norway with a program that calls for several exploratory and development wells.
Eni Norge has a 30% interest in the Statoil AS-led group that earlier this month confirmed the Skrugard discovery at the 7220/5-1 well 200 km off Norway (OGJ Online, Mar. 6, 2012).
Eni noted that the 7220/5-1 well encountered a gas column of about 25 m and an oil column of 48 m in the Middle-Lower Jurassic reservoir Sto and Nordmela formations. The aim of the appraisal well, Eni Norge said, was to prove the hydrocarbon extension in the middle section of the Skrugard structure, which was successfully drilled by the 7220/7-1 discovery well in 2011.
Skrugard is estimated to hold at least 250 million bbl of recoverable oil and 350 bcf of associated and free gas, Eni Norge said, and combined with Havis field 7 km southwest, the recoverable figure now exceeds 500 million bbl of oil.
A new exploratory campaign in the PL532 license is to start by the end of 2012 and will lead to the drilling of new wells aimed at confirming additional hydrocarbon volumes to be linked to the production hub, Eni Norge said.
During 2012 Eni Norge plans to drill the Bonna prospect on the PL 529 license and the Salina prospect on the PL533 license as operator. In autumn 2012, Eni Norge will begin drilling 22 production wells to develop Goliat field.
Other PL532 interests are Statoil operator with 50% and Petoro AS 20%, but Eni Norge is the only company besides Statoil to hold interests in all three commercial oil discoveries in the Barents Sea. Eni Norge said it “has a 30-year outlook for its activities in the Barents Sea.” Present in Norway since 1965, Eni produces 135,000 b/d of oil equivalent on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Alan Petzet | Chief Editor Exploration
Alan Petzet is Chief Editor-Exploration of Oil & Gas Journal in Houston. He is editor of the Weekly E&D Newsletter, emailed to OGJ subscribers, and a regular contributor to the OGJ Online subscriber website.
Petzet joined OGJ in 1981 after 13 years in the Tulsa World business-oil department. He was named OGJ Exploration Editor in 1990. A native of Tulsa, he has a BA in journalism from the University of Tulsa.