Aker BP comes up empty-handed at another prospect as drilling ops wind down

February 21, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Norwegian oil and gas player Aker BP has found no hydrocarbons in the Norwegian Sea, following drilling activities conducted by one of Saipem’s semi-submersible rigs off the coast of Norway.

Weeks after Aker BP’s wildcat well 35/6-5 S at the Njargasas prospect turned out to be dry and two months after the firm found no hydrocarbons in the wildcat well 34/6-7 S at the Kaldafjell prospect in the northern part of the North Sea, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) revealed that the Norwegian player had no better luck in the wildcat well 6306/6-3 S at the Bounty Updip prospect in the Norwegian Sea.

The drilling permit for the wellbore 6306/6-3 S in production license 886, part of the awards in predefined areas (APA) 2016 with results announced in February 2017, was secured in 2024. Aker BP (60%) operates the license with ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (20%) and Petoro (20%) as its partners. This was the second well in the license.

The Bounty Updip prospect, located on the Frøya High, 30 kilometers south of the Fenja field, was drilled using the Scarabeo 8 rig. As the objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks in the Rogn Formation, it encountered the Rogn Formation totaling 74 meters, 70 meters of which were sandstone layers with good to very good reservoir quality.

The well 6306/6-3 S was drilled to a vertical depth of 1,607 meters below sea level and was terminated in basement rock. The water depth at the site is 213 meters and the well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.

The Scarabeo 8 semi-submersible won a three-year deal worth $325 million in March 2022 and started its assignment in early 2023. Aker BP prolonged the rig’s assignment on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in September 2024 to keep the unit busy in Norway until the end of 2026.

With a maximum drilling depth of 35,000 feet (about 10,668 meters), Scarabeo 8 is a sixth-generation dual derrick deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig.