Aker BP to assess minor gas discovery alongside remaining Barents Sea prospects

Aker BP ASA and partners will assess a minor gas discovery alongside remaining prospects in production license 858 in the Barents Sea. Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery at 1.6-2.1 million standard cu m of recoverable oil equivalent. It is not considered to be financially profitable at present.

Exploration well 7234/6-1—the first in the license—was drilled by the Deepsea Nordkapp drilling rig about 160 km south of the 7435/12-1 (Korpfjell) gas discovery in the eastern part of the Barents Sea and 290 km northeast of Vardø to a vertical depth of 4,003 m below sea level. It was terminated in the Ørn formation.

Water depth at the site is 247 m. The well has been permanently plugged.

The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in carbonate reservoir rocks from the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian (Ørn formation). The well encountered a gas column totaling 57 m in the Ørn formation, of which 26 m in carbonate rocks (dolomite) with poor to moderate reservoir quality.

The gas-water contact was not encountered, but water samples have been collected. The gas discovery has a high CO₂ content.

The well encountered traces of gas in several thin sandstone layers of variable reservoir quality in the Snadd, Kobbe, and Havert formation from the Triassic. It also encountered a 36-m thick Realgrunnen Subgroup from the Jurassic with a sandstone reservoir with no traces of petroleum.

The well was not formation-tested, but data acquisition and sampling have been performed.

The rig will now drill pilot holes in production license 146 in the North Sea, where Aker BP is operator.

Aker is operator of license 858 with 40% interest. Partners are Lukoil Overseas North Shelf AS, Petoro AS, and Equinor Energy AS each hold 20%.