Sokkeldirektoratet

Oil and gas discovery near the Balder field in the North Sea - 25/8-20 S, 25/8-20 B and 25/8-20 C

6/21/2021 Vår Energi AS, operator of production licence 027, has concluded the drilling of wildcat wells 25/8-20 S and 25/8-20 B and appraisal well 25/8-20 C.

The wells were drilled about 6 kilometres north of the Balder field in the central North Sea, 165 kilometres west of Haugesund.

The primary exploration target for wildcat well 25/8-20 S was to prove petroleum in the Eiriksson Formation from the Early Jurassic Age and the Skagerrak Formation from the Late Triassic Age.

The secondary target for the well was to prove petroleum in the Hermod Formation from the Paleogene Age.

The primary exploration target for wildcat well 25/8-20 B was to prove petroleum in injectite sands from the Paleogene Age (the Horda, Balder and Sele Formation) and to prove petroleum in the Skagerrak Formation in a nearby fault segment to well 25/8-20 S.

The primary exploration target for appraisal well 25/8-20 C was to prove petroleum and study the spread of the reservoir to injectite sands from the Paleogene Age.

Well 25/8-20 S encountered an oil column of about 30 metres in the Skagerrak Formation, of which 10 metres of sandstone with moderate to good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was not proven.

The well encountered a total of about 45 metres of water-bearing sandstone with very good to extremely good reservoir quality in the Eiriksson Formation.

In the Hermod Formation, the well encountered 50 metres of water-bearing sandstone with extremely good reservoir quality.

Well 25/8-20 B encountered a gas column of about 30 metres and an oil column of 55 metres in Eocene injectite sands, of which 10 metres was sandstone of extremely good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was encountered about 1780 metres below sea level.

The well also encountered oil in sandstone intervals of poor to moderate quality in the upper part of the Skagerrak Formation, which has a gross thickness of 95 metres. The oil/water contact was not proven. Pressure data in the water zone indicates communication in the Skagerrak Formation with 25/8-20 S.

Well 25/8-20 C encountered a gas column of about 40 metres and an oil column of about 55 metres in Eocene injectite sands, where about 35 metres was massive sandstone with extremely good reservoir quality. The gas/oil and oil/water contacts were encountered at the same depth as in 25/8-20 B.

Preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery are between 9 and 21 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent. The licensees have assessed the discoveries as commercial and will consider tie-in to existing infrastructure in the Balder area.

The wells were not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been performed.

These are the tenth, eleventh and twelfth exploration wells in production licence 027. The production licence was awarded in the 2nd licensing round in 1969.

Well 25/8-20 S was drilled to respective vertical and measured depths of 2374 and 2699 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Skagerrak Formation.

Well 25/8-20 B was drilled to respective vertical and measured depths of 2353 and 2664 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Skagerrak Formation.

Well 25/8-20 C was drilled to respective vertical and measured depths of 1880 and 2026 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Sele Formation from the Paleocene Age.

Water depth at the site is 128 metres. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned.

The wells were drilled by the Scarabeo 8 drilling facility, which will visit the shipyard in Ølen before it drills development well 7122/7-D-2 H in production licence 229 in the Barents Sea, where Vår Energi AS is the operator.

 

Map of well 25_8_20_S_B_C

 

Contact

Ola Anders Skauby

Director Communication, public affairs and emergency response

Tel: +47 905 98 519

Updated: 6/21/2021

Latest news

Who deserves the Improved Recovery Award?
11/25/2025 The time has come to nominate candidates for this prize, which was first awarded in 1998. Back then it was known as the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s IOR Award.
Production figures October 2025
11/20/2025 Preliminary production figures for October 2025 show an average daily production of 2 017 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate.
Drilling permit for well 33/12-N-3 GH and 33/12-N-3 HH
11/20/2025 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor Energy AS drilling permit for wellbore 33/12-N-3 GH in production licence 037 B/152 and 33/12-N-3 HH in production licence 037 B/277.
Dry well in the North Sea (2/6-8 S and 2/6-8 ST2)
11/18/2025 DNO and its partners have drilled a dry well in the "Page" prospect in the southern part of the North Sea, about 270 kilometres from Stavanger and 40 kilometres from Ekofisk.
What would you like to learn more about at Technology Day 2026?
11/17/2025 The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is pleased to announce Technology Day 2026. Save the date – 4 June 2026 – and take this opportunity to nominate speakers for the event!
New Dashboard: Resource stats by company
11/14/2025 Our new Dashboard provides an overview of the licensees’ respective petroleum resources and reserves on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
Delineation of the “Zagato” oil discovery in the Barents Sea – 7122/8-4 S
11/13/2025 Vår Energi's appraisal well 7122/8-4 S confirms the 7122/8-3 S (“Zagato”) oil discovery, which was proven in February.
New technology is profitable when shutting down wells
11/13/2025 About 2900 wellbores on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) will be plugged and shut down in the years to come, but development and implementation of new technology can save the industry and society considerable costs.
Dry well in the North Sea (34/6-9 S)
11/11/2025 Equinor and its partners have drilled a dry well in the Snorre area in the North Sea.
Dry well in the North Sea (30/11-16 S)
11/7/2025 Aker BP and its partners have drilled a dry well in the Yggdrasil area in the North Sea.