No magic at Presto as well comes up dry
The exploration well Presto in the Norwegian North Sea has encountered good reservoir quality rocks, but, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, hydrocarbons were not present. UK independent Cairn Energy holds a 30% stake in the Equinor operated PL885 licence. The well was targeting 160mmboe gross mean resources in the Lower Cretaceous Agat sandstones with a secondary objective in shallower stacked channelised turbidite fan complexes in the Upper Cretaceous
Read more...Gjøkåsen Deep is third well to disappoint in frontier south eastern Barents
Lundin Petroleum has announced that the Equinor operated 7132/2-2 well, Gjøkåsen Deep, did not discover hydrocarbons. Sandstones of varying quality were encountered in the late and early Triassic primary objectives, and a deeper extension to evaluate the underlying reservoir potential did not encounter reservoir rocks. The well was located in production licence PL857 and Lundin had assigned 428mmboe gross prospective resources to the prospect. The well followed on from the Gjøkåsen Shallow well (also in PL857) which had been estimated by Lundin to hold 768mmboe, but came up dry in February this year.
Read more...Record APA awards in Norway
Norway has awarded 83 new production licenses under the 2018 Norwegian APA round which covers the most explored areas of the Norwegian shelf. This is the largest number ever awarded in a single APA round. The licences were mainly distributed across the North Sea with 37 awards, and the Norwegian Sea with 32 awards. The award of 14 licences in the Barents Sea reflects the frontier nature of the region, however this figure continues to grow, with only three licences awarded here in APA 2016 and eight awarded in 2017.(Link to awards maps)
Read more...Lower break even for Johan Sverdrup
With the world class development almost 70% complete, estimated costs have been reduced and the resource estimate increased, bringing the break even costs down to below $15/bbl for Phase 1 of the Statoilt operated project, offshore Norway.
Read more...Wells to watch in 2017
Since the oil price crash of 2014, exploration has been particularly badly hit as companies looked to trim expenditure. Wood Mackenzie estimates that 2017 exploration will account for 8% of upstream expenditure, down from historic norms of 14%. In this more difficult environment, any surviving exploration has tended to be led by majors, for example ExxonMobil’s giant Liza discovery offshore Guyana in 2015. In our most recent Exploration Watch, we highlight wells due to spud in 2017 that involve independent companies, with resources estimates greater than 100mmboe. Our exception is the much anticipated multi-billion barrel potential Korpfjell prospect in the Barents Sea offshore Norway, which is operated by Statoil and partnered by major companies.
Read more...Filicudi discovery - positive start to 2017 Barents exploration
Lundin’s Filicudi discovery is a successful start to exploration drilling in 2017 for the Barents Sea. The prospect holds an estimated 35 - 100mmboe and encountered 63m of oil and 66m of gas in high quality Jurassic and Triassic sandstones. Filicudi is on trend with Johan Castberg around 40km to the north east and the discovery has derisked the adjacent 218mmboe Hurri prospect together with the 285mmboe Hufsa. As a result, both prospects now carry a 25% CoS, and Lundin and licence partners AkerBP and Dea are considering drilling one or both of these later this year.
Read more...Norway awards 56 new licences
Norway has awarded 56 new production licences under the 2016 Norwegian APA (Awards in Pre-defined Areas) Licence Round, which covered the more explored areas of the Norwegian Continental Shelf . Interest was strongest in the North Sea area with 36 awards, while 17 were awarded in the Norwegian Sea. Only three awards went in the Barents Sea, reflecting the frontier nature of the basin. Link to awards maps
Read more...