New shallow gas discovery prompts suspension of drilling ops

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has found shallow gas during drilling activities with an Odfjell Drilling-owned semi-submersible rig at a well in the Norwegian Sea off the coast of Norway.

These drilling operations on the NO 6610/7-3 exploration well, operated by Equinor (80% stake) with OKEA (20%) as its partner, have been temporarily suspended in the wake of a shallow gas discovery in PL 1014 at the Arkenstone prospect.

According to the operator’s partner, two pilot wells were drilled with the Deepsea Atlantic rig to assess the presence of shallow gas above the reservoir. After the shallow gas was encountered, the drilling operations were temporarily put on hold.

As a result, both pilot wells were plugged with cement. Equinor and OKEA intend to focus on well engineering to ensure that the Arkenstone well can be drilled safely, accounting for the shallow gas zone in the upper layers of the formation.

The Arkenstone prospect is located approximately 100 km northeast of the Norne field, at a water depth of around 230 meters. The Norne license has applied for a lifetime extension until 2036. The production facilities encompass the FPSO Norne and 15 subsea templates, including 52 wells.

Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Atlantic rig will now sail towards PL 1119 to spud the Mistral well, where OKEA holds a 30% interest. Recently, Equinor made an oil and gas discovery with the same rig in an area where previous commercial discoveries were made in the North Sea.

This puts a tie-back to existing infrastructure on the table as a development option to combine the recent discoveries off the coast of Norway.