Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Saipem’s semisubmersible Scarabeo 8 has spudded the Rødhette exploration well in the Barents Sea for operator Vår Energi.
According to partner Longboat Energy, drilling could continue for six weeks, and will target prospective resources in the range 41-81 MMboe. A commercial result could lead to a 30-km (18.6-mi) tieback to the Goliat field infrastructure.
Rødhette is in a proven Jurassic play in the Hammerfest basin. The key risks are thought to be fault seal and oil column thickness.
Longboat will participate in two more wells offshore Norway this year, starting with Equinor’s Egyptian Vulture wildcat, which the semisub West Hercules should spud before the end of September.
This well will target prospective resources of 103-208 MMboe, with potential upside. Around the same time the jackup Maersk Integrator should start drilling the Mugnetind prospect for Aker BP.
The final program for Longboat this year, due to begin in December, will be Equinor’s well on the dual-target Ginny and Hermine prospects, again using the West Hercules. Resource range could be 68-129 MMobe.
For H1 2022, Equinor has contracted the semisub Deepsea Stavanger to drill the Kveikje and Cambozola exploration wells (Longboat has respective interests of 10% and 25%).
Kveikje is said to be a low-risk, Paleocene injectite play close to the Fram infrastructure in the North Sea, while Cambozola could be a play-opening well in an area close to some of Norway’s largest fields.
In addition, following Longboat’s recent commitment on the Copernicus prospect, a site survey should start shortly to support the planned exploration well in 2022, operated by PGNiG.
Hilde Salthe will join Longboat next month as Managing Director Norway. She is a petroleum geologist by background, with over 20 years of experience working for Shell, Statoil (now Equinor), Talisman and Paladin.
Most recently, she was Subsurface Manager of DNO’s North Sea Business Unit.
09/15/2021
