Shell come up dry in Morth Sea well

Shell's Edinburgh exploration well (30/14a-5) drilled in offshore UK license P255 has failed to encounter commercial quantities of hydrocarbons and is being plugged and abandoned.

The news was shared by DNO, the Norwegian oil and gas company, and Shell's partner in the project straddling the Norway-United Kingdom maritime border.

The well was drilled to a total depth of 16,500 feet (5029 meters) and encountered two sandstones of Jurassic age but wireline logging indicated no movable hydrocarbons within the sandstones. DNO holds a 45 percent interest in the Edinburgh prospect.  The pre-drill resource estimate for the well was 100-675 mmboe, with a 29% chance of success.

The well, operated by Shell  U.K. Limited, was drilled through a joint well agreement covering four separate, contiguous licenses, of which two are in the UK (P255 and  P2401) and two in Norway (PL018ES and PL969).

"Data collected will be integrated with existing seismic data and further studies will be undertaken to assess the remaining potential within the licenses," DNO said.

The well, spudded on March 15, was drilled using the Valaris 122 jack-up rig in a water depth of 232 feet (70.7 meters).

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