Equinor in another delay of Verbier appraisal well

Norwegian oil company Equinor has once again pushed back the date for Verbier appraisal well drilling in the UK North Sea, changing it to the first quarter of 2019. 

Equinor previously postponed the well from late Q3 to early Q4 to mid to late Q4 2018. The Verbier appraisal well is located in P.2170 (Blocks 20/5b & 21/1d), where Equinor is the operator.

Jersey Oil & Gas, Equinor’s partner in the license, said on Monday that the timing for operations to start on the Verbier appraisal well is now expected during 1Q 2019.

The well will be drilled using the West Phoenix rig, which is currently being utilized on the first of four wells in the Equinor-operated drilling campaign. The campaign consists of one well on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and three wells on the UK Continental Shelf. The Norwegian well is investigating a prospect named Ragnfrid Nord, just south of the Kristin field in the central Norwegian Sea.

Last week, an investigation was launched by Norwegian offshore safety watchdog into a fire which broke out on the West Phoenix drilling unit on Monday, November 5, 2018. At the time of the incident, the rig was drilling in the Norwegian Sea with Equinor as operator.

When it comes to Equinor’s UK drilling campaign, the West Phoenix was hired to drill on the Pip prospect, the Bigfoot prospect, and the Verbier appraisal well.

The Verbier discovery, in which Jersey holds an 18 percent interest, is located in Block 20/5b. Initial operator estimates of gross recoverable resources associated with the Verbier discovery are between 25 and 130 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) with an estimated mean of 69mmboe.

The purpose of the planned appraisal well is to determine the potential volume range in the discovery.

Offshore Energy Today Staff