Oil and gas discovery in the North Sea (35/10-13 S)

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Equinor and its partner DNO have made an oil and gas discovery in the northern part of the North Sea.

Wildcat well (35/10-13 S) was drilled in production licence 827 SB from the Awards in predefined areas (APA) in 2022. The well was drilled using the Deepsea Atlantic rig.

The primary objective of the drilling was in the “Angel” prospect. Preliminary estimates indicate the discovery is between 0.1-0.5 million Sm3 of recoverable oil equivalent, which is not profitable given current price assumptions.

Another objective for the well was to delineate the 35/10-9 (Heisenberg) discovery. Here, oil was proven which confirms the discovery size of 3.8-8.9 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil, corresponding to 24-56 million barrels.

The exploration well is a continuation of the work in the area. Production licence 827 S was awarded in 2015 APA. The licensees have conducted exploration drilling on the “Gabriel” (35/10-6) prospect, which proved to be dry, and on Heisenberg, which was a confirmed discovery. An appraisal well was also drilled on Heisenberg earlier this year.
Geological information

The primary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in Eocene reservoir rocks in the Balder Formation.

The secondary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in Eocene reservoir rocks in the Hordaland Group, and to delineate the 35/10-9 (Heisenberg) discovery, also in Eocene reservoir rocks in the Hordaland Group.

Well 35/10-13 S encountered a 1-metre gas column in the Balder Formation in sandstone layers totalling 56 metres with good to very good reservoir quality. The estimated location of the gas/water contact is between 1709 and 1714 metres below sea level.

In the secondary exploration target, well 35/10-13 S encountered a gas in thin and heterogeneous sandstone layers totalling 6 metres with poor to moderate reservoir quality in the Hordaland Group. The gas/water contact was not encountered.

The well also encountered a 6-metre oil column in the Hordaland Group in the interval for the 35/10-9 (Heisenberg) discovery in sandstone layers totalling 6 metres with moderate to good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was not encountered.

The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out.
Well 35/10-13 S was drilled to a vertical depth of 1813 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Sele Formation in the Eocene/Palaeocene.

Water depth at the site is 365 metres. The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.

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