OMV Norge has completed a successful exploration drilling campaign in PL 1194 in the Norwegian Sea.
The Transocean Norge semisub drilled the multi-target well, the first in the license, on the Haydn/Monn exploration prospects. It encountered gas with estimated recoverable volumes in the range 30 MMboe to 140 MMboe.
The well was drilled 310 km west of Sandnessjøen in a water depth of 1,064 m, proving gas at a location 65 km from the Polarled gas pipeline and the Equinor-operated Aasta Hansteen field center.
OMV Norge and its partners Vår Energi and Inpex Idemitsu Norge plan further evaluation for a potential tie-in of the gas to the nearby infrastructure.
A subsea development to the Aasta Hansteen spar platform via these facilities should speed up planning and execution, OMV said, with lower development costs and a reduced carbon footprint.
Berislav Gašo, OMV's executive vice president of energy, added, “This discovery could unlock significant potential in the area and extend the life of the Aasta Hansteen gas hub, in which OMV already has a stake.”
According to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, the well was designed to prove petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks in the Springar and Nise formations.
In the primary Springar exploration target, it encountered a 20-m gas column, with no gas/water contact, and 11 m of gas-filled sandstone layers in the lower part of the Springar formation.
The secondary Nise formation target delivered a 5-m gas column in sandstone reservoir rocks.
The well has since been permanently plugged and abandoned.
