Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway – The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) is making available data from wildcat wells drilled offshore Norway from 1990-2000.
It plans to make such data regularly available via the FactPages on its website, npd.no.
According to the directorate, all wildcat wells provide geologists with critical data to support the general drive for new discoveries, hence the need for companies to provide comprehensive reports post-drilling.
In 1996, the NPD initiated the Evaluation of Norwegian Wildcat Wells project. One aim was to compare the operator’s forecast prospect parameters and resource size with the actual results.
Another was to assess why certain exploration wells did not deliver discoveries. The project included wildcat wells drilled between 1990 and 1997, with the dataset based on a standard form developed under a collaboration between oil companies and the NPD.
Analysis typically revealed a tendency to overestimate volumes pre-drilling. According to Section 31 of Norway’s Resource Management Regulations, licensees must report the forecast for and result of wildcats six months after drilling.
The data represents the operator’s view at the time of reporting, not subsequent results from appraisal drilling or re-evaluations, and estimates/volumes must generally be listed with a range of uncertainty.
06/14/2021
