RWE Dea spuds Titan appraisal well (Norway)

RWE Dea Norge started drilling a well at production license (PL) 420, offshore Norway, to appraise the Titan discovery.

Recoverable volumes are estimated at approximately 12 million standard cubic metres oil equivalents. It is the first of two wells to be drilled on PL420 this year.

RWE Dea Norge has contracted the semi-submersible rig Leiv Eiriksson to drill well 35/9-11 S on Titan (PL420) in the North Sea. A promising discovery was made on the license in 2010. The complexity of the reservoir necessitated the collection of new 3D seismic data in 2012. Following interpretation of the data, the decision to drill was made.

The appraisal well will be drilled at a water depth of 370 meters and is expected to be completed in 60 to 120 days, depending on results. The primary target is the Brent Group at approximately 3,770 meters below sea level, with secondary targets in the Heather and Cook formations.

“Everything is in place to ensure that the drilling will be completed without incidents, and hopefully with good results,” says Hugo Sandal, Managing Director of RWE Dea Norge. “We discovered oil and gas resources in this prospect in 2010, and are now eager to explore the size of the discovery. We have accumulated a comprehensive geological understanding of this area of the North Sea, which is one of our core areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” Sandal continues.

Titan is located about 16 kilometers west of the Gjøa field in the North Sea. In 2010, RWE Dea Norge discovered both oil and gas in well 35/9-6 S in a 435 meter hydrocarbon column in the Heather, Cook, and Drake Formations and in the Brent Group. Current estimates are in the range of 12 million standard cubic metres recoverable oil equivalents.

RWE Dea Norge will drill an additional exploration well on a different prospect in the license later this year. Titan (PL420) is operated by RWE Dea Norge, which holds a 30 percent stake. The other licencees are Statoil Petroleum (40 percent) and Idemitsu Petroleum Norge (30 percent).