Aker BP makes oil and gas discovery in North Sea

Norwegian oil exploration and development company Aker BP has discovered an oil and gas reservoir near the Alvheim field in the North Sea.

The reservoir, known as the Froskelår Main and formally named exploration well 24/9-14, follows the Frosk oil discovery last year. Aker BP completed drilling of the Frosk exploration well 24/9-14 in February 2018.

The reservoir is estimated to hold a gross discovery size of 45-153 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mboe), increasing productivity from the initial 30-60Mboe discovered in its preliminary analysis in 2018.

A major part of the discovery is in licence 869 on the Norwegian continental shelf, while a part of the discovery may straddle Norway’s border with the UK in the North Sea. In cases where overlap occurs, the two nations share revenue from production based on estimates of how much oil and gas is located on each side of the maritime border.

Aker BP is the operator of licence 869 with a 60% stake, while Norwegian exploration and production Vår Energi and Swedish oil and gas company Lundin Petroleum each hold a 20% stake.

Aker BP said: “The drilling operation will continue, and a comprehensive data collection programme will be performed to determine the size and quality of the discovery.”

In a recent capital markets day presentation, Aker BP announced plans to drill 15 prospects in a “high-potential exploration program.” As part of these plans the company has set aside $500m to target net unrisked prospective resources of 500Mboe, an increase from last year’s $359m exploration budget.

Source: Offshore-Technology