Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Equinor has discovered oil with its latest drilling campaign in the Fram area of the Norwegian North Sea.
The semisubmersible West Hercules drilled two wells on the Blasto prospect in production licenses 090, 090 I and 090 E, 3 km (1.86 mi) southwest of the Fram field and 11 km (6.8 mi) northwest of the Troll field.
Early analysis suggests recoverable resources in the range 75-120 MMboe, making this the largest find of the year to date on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Nick Ashton, Equinor’s senior vice president for exploration in Norway, pointed out that the company had now achieved discoveries in four prospects in the Fram area over the past 18 months.
Exploration well 31/2-22 S, drilled in 349 m (1,145 ft) of water, intersected a 30-m (98.4-ft) oil column in the upper Sognefjord formation and a 50-m (164-ft) oil column in the lower part of the formation, with oil-water contacts at 1,860 m (6,102 ft) and 1,960 m (6,430 ft), respectively.
The second well, however, was a dry hole.
Equinor and its partners will seek to tie Blasto to other discoveries and production infrastructure in the area.
Both wells have now been permanently P&A’d. Next up for the West Hercules will be another exploration well (34/6-5 S) for Equinor in PL 554 in the northern Norwegian North Sea.
03/24/2021
