Oil and gas discovery near the Balder field in the North Sea – 25/7-7

The well was drilled about 15 kilometres northwest of the Balder field in the central part of the North Sea and 205 kilometres west of Stavanger.

The primary and secondary exploration targets for the well were to prove petroleum in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks (Intra-Draupne and Heather Formation sandstones, respectively).

In the primary exploration target, the well encountered two separate gas/condensate and oil-bearing intervals, with sandy layers in the Draupne Formation totalling about 25 metres with reservoir properties varying from poor to very good. No hydrocarbon/water contact was encountered. Thin water-bearing siltstone layers were encountered in the secondary exploration target in the Heather Formation.

Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 1 and 10 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent. The licensees will further assess the well result with regard to delineation/profitability, as well as investigation of nearby prospects.

The well was not formation-tested, but data has been collected and samples have been taken.

This is the first exploration well in production licence 782 S. The licence was awarded in APA 2014.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 4705 metres below sea level, and it was terminated in the Heather Formation in the Middle Jurassic.

Water depth at the site is 127 metres. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 25/7-7 was drilled by the Leiv Eiriksson drilling facility, which will now drill a wildcat well in production licence 917, where ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS is the operator.