Confirmed gas discovery in the North Sea

Confirmed gas discovery in the North Sea

The well was drilled using the Noble Integrator rig, formerly Maersk Integrator. (Photo: Maersk)

13/03/2024 Harbour Energy and its partners have confirmed a gas discovery in well 15/9-25 in the North Sea. This gas discovery has previously been proven in two other exploration wells.

The gas was first proven in wells 16/7-2 and 16/7-10, drilled in 1982 and 2011, respectively.

15/9-25 is the first well in production licence 1138, which was awarded in Awards in Pre-defined Areas (APA) in 2021.

The overall gas volume is calculated at between one and three million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent (o.e.).

The well was drilled using the Noble Integrator rig northeast of the Sleipner area, about 210 kilometres west of Stavanger.

Licensees Harbour Energy, Sval and Aker BP will consider whether there is a technical and financial basis for tying the discovery into existing infrastructure in the area.

Geological information

The primary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic and Triassic reservoir rocks in the Hugin and Skagerrak formations.

The secondary exploration target was to delineate gas proven in wells 16/7-2 and 16/7-10 in reservoir rocks in the Ty Formation from the Palaeocene.

In the primary exploration target, well 15/9-25 encountered a 22-metre thick layer of aquiferous sand with very good reservoir quality in the Hugin Formation in the Vestland Group. In the Ty Formation, the well encountered a 10-metre gas column in a 118-metre thick sandstone reservoir with very good reservoir quality. The gas/water contact was encountered 2330 metres below sea level, which confirms the contact encountered in nearby wells.

The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling were carried out.

Well 15/9-25 was drilled to a measured depth of 2872 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Smith Bank Formation in the Upper Triassic.

Water depth at the site is 84 metres. The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.

Updated: 13/03/2024

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