Aker BP in small gas discovery in North Sea

Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP has completed the drilling of a wildcat well and an appraisal well located in the North Sea and made a small gas discovery as a result.

The wells are located in production license 869, where Aker BP is the operator. The wells were drilled about 6 kilometers southwest of the Bøyla field, and about 230 kilometers west of Stavanger.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) reported on Wednesday that the objective of wildcat well 24/9-13 was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks (sand injectites) in the Eocene. The objective of appraisal well 24/9-13 A was to prove petroleum/water contacts.

The well 24/9-13 encountered a gas column of about 3 meters in the Hordaland group, whereof a total of 2 meters of sandstone with mainly good reservoir quality. Several sandstone layers with mainly good reservoir quality were also encountered, totaling 17 metres in the Balder formation. These showed traces of petroleum.

The sandstones are interpreted as being remobilized sand from the Heimdal and Hermod formation, and injected into overlying stratigraphy in the Rogaland and Hordaland group.

The appraisal well 24/9-13 A encountered a gas column of about 40 meters in injectite zones, of which a total of 7 meters of sandstone with good to very good reservoir quality. The sandstones are interpreted as being injected sands in the Hordaland group, as in well 24/9-13.

Petroleum/water contacts were not encountered in any of the wells, but the wells overall proved a gas column of minimum 77 meters.

According to the NPD, preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 0.6 and 1.7 million standard cubic meters (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents. The licensees will assess the well results for further delineation of the discovery.

The wells were not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been conducted. These are the third and fourth exploration wells in production license 869, which was awarded in APA 2016.

The well 24/9-13 was drilled to a vertical depth of 2272 meters below the sea surface. 24/9-13 A was drilled to respective vertical and measured depths of 2240 meters and 3433 meters below the sea surface. Both wells were terminated in the Heimdal formation in the Palaeocene.

Water depth at the site is 118 meters. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned.

Wells 24/9-13 and 24/9-13 A were drilled by the Deepsea Nordkapp drilling rig, which will now drill a production well on the Skogul field in production license 460, where Aker BP is also the operator.

Spotted a typo? Have something more to add to the story? Maybe a nice photo? Contact our editorial team via email.

Also, if you’re interested in showcasing your company, product or technology on Offshore Energy Today, please contact us via our advertising form where you can also see our media kit.