Equinor finds oil near gas strike off Norway

Equinor and partners have found oil in the Utsira High area of the Norwegian North Sea in a well that also confirmed the 2004 Verdandi natural gas discovery on license PL 167 (OGJ Online, May 22, 2003).

Calling the find commercial, Equinor estimated the 16/1-29 S “Lille Prinsen” well found 15-35 million boe of recoverable oil in its main target.

It also found oil in a shallower layer “with very good reservoir quality” but did not evaluate quantity.

The Odfjell Drilling Deepsea Bergen semisubmersible rig drilled the 16/1-29 S well to 1,987 m vertical depth, 2,001 m measured depth below sea surface, terminating in basement rock, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Water depth is 114 m.

The well is northeast of Ivar Aasen oil field, about 2 km south of the Verdandi discovery well.

It encountered an oil column of about 95 m total, with 17 m of efficient reservoir in clastic rocks with moderate to good reservoir quality. The oil-water contact is at 1,947 m below sea surface.

The shallower, unevaluated discovery, according to NPD, is in thin Eocene Grid sandstone layers totaling 10 m in an interval of about 30 m. About 5 m of pay was gas and 5 m oil.

Pressure data indicated depths below sea surface of 1,436 m for the gas-oil contact and 1,472 m for the oil-water contact, NPD said.

The well cut 15 m of gas pay in Paleocene Heimdal and did not encounter the gas-water contact.

Equinor operates PL 167 with a 60% interest. Lundin Norway AS and Spirit Energy Norge AS hold 20% interests each.