Aker BP ASA and partners will assess a recent North Sea hydrocarbon discovery alongside others with a view towards possible development. The newest discovery was made in production license (PL) 919 about 215 km west of Stavanger. Preliminary calculations place the size of the discovery at 0.5-0.8 million std cu m of recoverable oil.
Exploration well 25/4-15, the first in the license, was drilled about 5 km west of Vilje field by the Scarabeo 8 semisubmersible drilling unit to a vertical depth of 2,375 m below sea level in 119 m of water. It was terminated in the Heimdal formation in the Palaeocene. The objective was to prove petroleum in Paleocene reservoir rocks in the formation.
The well encountered a 31.5-m oil column in the Heimdal formation, 29 m of which was a sandstone reservoir with good reservoir quality. The formation was 187 m thick in total.
Oil-water contact was encountered at 2,253 m subsea, and the contact was confirmed with pressure points. A 1.5-m zone of residual oil was also encountered in deeper Heimdal sand with good reservoir quality.
Small-scale formation tests were conducted, and data acquisition and sampling were also carried out. The well has been permanently plugged.
The drilling rig will now drill wildcat well 25/2-24 S in PL 873 where Aker BP ASA is operator.
Aker BP is operator at PL 919 (80%) with partner ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (20%).
