Shell proves gas, light oil in North Sea Pensacola target

Offshore staff

LONDON — Shell’s exploration well on the Pensacola prospect in the southern UK North Sea may have opened a new Zechstein play.

The well on license P252, which the Noble Resilient jackup began drilling last November, encountered mobile gas and light oil in the Zechstein Hauptdolomite carbonate target interval.

Shell’s partner Deltic Energy estimates the recoverable gas volumes at 302 Bcf (P50). If confirmed, that would make this one of the basin’s largest gas finds in over a decade.

The well penetrated the top Hauptdolomite reservoir at 1,745 m TVDSS; the reservoir thickness was 18.8 m, with an average porosity of 16%.

Post-acidization, the well flowed gas at up to 4.75 MMcf/d before falling back to 1.75 MMcf/d after 12 hours of testing.

The location was downdip, so the tested rates will probably not be representative of rates from potential future production wells, Deltic said. These would likely target the central part of the Pensacola structure and should therefore deliver higher rates.

During the test, the well also flowed light oil (34-36°API) at about 18 bbl/d. However, the partners have yet to determine the significance of the oil.

Based on the data collected during drilling and testing, Deltic has updated its volumetric models and now estimates the Pensacola discovery to contain P50 EUR of 302 Bcf (P90 to P10 range = 164 to 519 Bcf), which are fully aligned with Deltic's pre-drill guidance.

The well will now be plugged and abandoned and the Noble Resilient jackup demobilized.

Deltic said it would now consider all options in relation to its interest in Pensacola including appraisal and development, and potentially either full or partial monetization of the value.

Shell has a 65% operated interest in P2252, with partners Deltic (30%) and ONE-Dyas (5%).