Delineation of the 16/2-5 P-Graben gas discovery in the North Sea

deepsea-stavanger-odfjell-drilling.jpg

The well was drilled by the Deepsea Stavanger drilling facility. Photo: Odjell Drilling.

16/02/2023 Equinor Energy AS, operator of production licence 265, has concluded the drilling of appraisal well 16/2-23 S.

The well was drilled about 7.5 kilometres east of the Edvard Grieg field and 10 kilometres west of the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea.

The discovery was proven in 2009 in reservoir rocks presumably from the Jurassic/Triassic.

Before well 16/2-23 S was drilled, the resource estimate for the discovery was between 1 and 2.9 billion Sm3 of recoverable gas.

The objective of the well was to delineate the 16/2-5 discovery and to prove additional volumes of petroleum in a graben structure from the Jurassic/Triassic with better reservoir properties, in the southern part of the Utsira High.

The well encountered traces of hydrocarbons in conglomerate rock presumably from the Jurassic/Triassic with poor reservoir quality.

The reservoir interval in the 16/2-5 gas discovery was cored in the appraisal well, which encountered graben-filled sediments with a thickness of around 260 metres, with conglomerate rocks with poor reservoir quality. Traces of oil were encountered in an interval of around 80 metres.

The well is classified as dry with traces of hydrocarbons. Pressure points in the water zone confirm communication with the discovery in well 16/2-5, made in 2009.

The result of 16/2-23 S indicates that the resources have been considerably reduced compared with previous estimates. The revision of the volumes for the 16/2-5 discovery will be completed when final data from the well is available.

Extensive data acquisition has been conducted in the well. Hydrocarbon gradients could not be established, and no liquid samples were taken.

This is the 18th exploration well in production licence 265.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 2100 metres below sea level and terminated in conglomerates presumably from the Jurassic/Triassic.

Water depth at the site is 110 metres.

The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned. The well was drilled by the Deepsea Stavanger drilling facility, which will now drill wildcat well 35/10-9 in production licence 827 S, where Equinor Energy AS is the operator.

Map showing the location of well 16/2-23 S.

 

Contact

Ola Anders Skauby

Director Communication, public affairs and emergency response

Tel: +47 905 98 519

Updated: 16/02/2023

Latest news

Dry well in the Norwegian Sea (6305/10-1)
22/01/2025 Orlen Upstream Norway and its partner Norske Shell have drilled a dry well, wildcat well 6305/10-1 “Tomcat”, in the southern part of the Norwegian Sea.
Production figures December 2024
21/01/2025 Preliminary production figures for December 2024 show an average daily production of 2 017 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate.
Drilling permit for wellbore 35/6-6
21/01/2025 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted OMV (Norge) AS drilling permit for wellbore 35/6-6 in production licence 1109, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations.
Gas discovery in the Barents Sea (7122/9-2)
17/01/2025 Vår Energi ASA and its partners found gas in the “Elgol” prospect; however, preliminary estimates indicate that the discovery is not profitable given current price assumptions.
20 companies offered ownership interests
14/01/2025 In the 2024 awards in pre-defined areas (APA), 20 companies have been offered ownership interests in a total of 53 production licences on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
Dry well in the North Sea (24/12-8 S)
14/01/2025 Aker BP and its partner Concedo drilled the dry well 24/12-8 S near the Bøyla field in the North Sea.
Record-high gas production in 2024
09/01/2025 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate's summary of activity on the Norwegian continental shelf in 2024 shows that gas production is higher than ever.
Drilling permit for wellbore 35/10-15 S
08/01/2025 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted DNO Norge AS drilling permit for wellbore 35/10-15 S in production licence 1182 S, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations.
Drilling permit for wellbore 6507/2-8
08/01/2025 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Aker BP ASA drilling permit for wellbore 6507/2-8 in production licence 942, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations.
Dry wells in the North Sea (35/10-14 S and A)
23/12/2024 Equinor and its partners have drilled two dry wells (“Kvernbit/Mimung”) in the North Sea.