OMV (Norge) AS has spud Velocette exploration well 6607/3-1 S in production license (PL) 1016 in the northern Norwegian Sea, according to an Aug. 8 release by partner Longboat Energy PLC.
Velocette is a gas-condensate prospect targeting Cretaceous Nise turbidite sands on the eastern flank of Utgard High. The prospect benefits from seismic amplitude anomalies indicative of gas-filled sands. It is in 475 m of water and is within tieback distance (about 45 km) from the Equinor-operated producing Aasta Hansteen field (OGJ Online, July 5, 2023).
Velocette is estimated to contain gross unrisked mean resources of 177 MMboe with a 30% geological chance of success. Follow-on opportunities exist within the license with aggregate gross unrisked mean resources of about 200 MMboe, which would be significantly de-risked by success in the Velocette well, the release said. The key risks associated with this prospect are reservoir presence and quality.
The well is being drilled by the Transocean Norge semisubmersible drilling rig and is expected to take 61 days.
OMV is operator at PL 1016 (40%) with partners INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS (40%) and Longboat Energy Norge AS (20%).
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).