Equinor Energy AS discovers oil in exploration well 30/12-3 S
Published by Emily Thomas,
Deputy Editor
Oilfield Technology,
Equinor Energy AS has discovered oil in exploration well 30/12-3 S in the North Sea. The well also included a sidetrack, 30/12-3 A, which was dry.
The wells were drilled about 40 km south of Oseberg and 150 km west of Bergen. The drilling was conducted by the Deepsea Stavanger drilling rig.
Equinor drilled the well on behalf of Aker BP, which is the operator of production licence 272 B. This is the first well in the production licence.
Aker BP and Equinor each have ownership interests of 50% in the production licence, which was awarded in APA 2018. The production licence is part of the Munin field, which was discovered in 2011. The authorities approved the plan for development and operation (PDO) for Munin in June 2023.
Between 0.15 and 0.55 million standard m3 of recoverable oil equivalent was proven in well 30/12-3 S.
Preliminary calculations show that the discovery is not profitable with current price assumptions.
Geological information
The objective of wildcat wells 30/12-3 S and 30/12-3 A was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks in the Tarbert Formation.
Well 30/12-3 S encountered a 3.5 m oil column in the Tarbert Formation, in a sandstone reservoir with moderate reservoir quality. The Tarbert Formation was about 195 m thick, 97 m of which was sandstone rocks with moderate-good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was encountered 3110 m below sea level.
The Ness Formation was about 163 m thick in total, 19 m of which was a sandstone reservoir with moderate reservoir quality.
Well 30/12-3 A encountered the Tarbert Formation with a thickness of about 216 m, 19 m of which was sandstone rocks with poor reservoir quality. The Ness Formation was about 50 m thick in total, 11 m of which was a sandstone reservoir with moderate reservoir quality. The well was dry.
The wells were not formation-tested, but data acquisition was undertaken.
Well 30/12-3 S was drilled to measured and vertical depths of 3663 m and 3465 m below sea level, respectively, and was terminated in the Drake Formation. Well 30/12-3 A was drilled to measured and vertical depths of 4520 m and 3718 m below sea level, respectively, and was terminated in the Ness Formation. Water depth in the area is 106 m. The well has now been permanently plugged and abandoned.
Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/22012024/equinor-energy-as-discovers-oil-in-exploration-well-3012-3-s/
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