TotalEnergies finds gas condensate pay in North Sea

France’s energy giant TotalEnergies has discovered new gas condensate resources during drilling operations with a Shelf Drilling-owned jack-up rig at a well in the Harald East area. This gas will be exported through the Tyra facilities in the Danish sector of the North Sea.

Following a final investment decision (FID) in January 2024, made by the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), including TotalEnergies (operator, 43.2%), BlueNord (36.8%), and Nordsøfonden (20%), to drill the Harald East Middle Jurassic well (HEMJ), drilling activities began in June 2024 with the Shelf Drilling Winner jack-up rig in the Harald East area, close to the Norwegian border.

According to the French player, the Harald East Middle Jurassic nearby exploration well (HEMJ-1X) has discovered additional gas condensate resources in the Harald field, located in shallow waters, 250 km off the west coast of Denmark.

Kevin McLachlan, Senior Vice President Exploration at TotalEnergies, commented: “The success of the Harald East Middle Jurassic well, nearby our Harald facilities in Denmark, demonstrates the strength of our exploration strategy. This additional discovery at the Harald field will contribute to Danish energy supply by boosting our existing production in the North Sea in line with the Danish National Compromise.”

The HEMJ-1X well was drilled in the Eastern part of Harald field and encountered 48 meters of net gas condensate pay in a good quality reservoir. TotalEnergies plans to immediately connect the well to the Harald platform. As a result, the well is expected to start producing before the end of the year through the existing Harald and Tyra facilities.

The company’s partner in the Danish Underground Consortium, BlueNord, has also confirmed drilling of the Harald East Middle Jurassic step-out well in the Eastern part of the producing field Harald, which is expected to be completed for production shortly, as the preliminary results from the well are perceived to be promising. 

Miriam Lykke, Chief Operating Officer of BlueNord, underlined: “I am very pleased with the preliminary results from the HEMJ well and look forward to the well being completed and on production. Pending further data and final results, the HEMJ well is expected to increase production from the Harald field in the Danish Underground Consortium (the ‘DUC’), extend the life of the Harald hub and contribute to energy security of supply in Denmark and Europe.”

After the restart of gas production from Tyra II, which is said to be Denmark’s largest natural gas field, the export of gas from the Tyra facilities to Denmark was ongoing during the ramp-up period, when the operator disclosed that an operational occurrence was temporarily impacting the commissioning of the facilities during the ramp-up and testing period.

TotalEnergies recently confirmed that the second transformer on Tyra II has been lifted onto the processing module known as TEG after returning to the processing facility to be reconnected. Once it reaches full capacity, Tyra II is expected to deliver 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas per year, amounting to 80% of the forecasted Danish gas production.

The redeveloped Tyra hub, which extends the Danish field’s life by 25 years, is anticipated to produce 5.7 million cubic meters of gas and 22,000 barrels of condensate per day at a plateau. TotalEnergies has been busy with multiple projects, including an oil one for which it recently reached a final investment decision (FID) off the coast of Suriname.