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...Tullow’s Araku result completes our 2017 wells to watch list
At the start of this year, we highlighted seven exploration wells due to be drilled in 2017, all involving independent companies and targeting resources over 100mmboe. The results from the last of these wells, Tullow’s Araku, were announced last week, with the offshore Suriname well proving the presence of gas condensate but with no significant reservoir quality rocks.
Read more...Korpfjell disappoints in the Barents
One of the most anticipated exploration wells of 2017, Korpfjell, has proven a small non-commercial gas volume in the frontier southeast region of the Barents Sea. The Statoil operated well had been targeting oil in a large structure that was estimated by partner Lundin to be over four times the size of that seen in the giant 1.9 - 3bnbbl Johan Sverdrup field.
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
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