Lundin Confirms Oil Discovery at Caterpillar Well

Marathon has discovered oil in its Caterpillar exploratory well in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The Caterpillar exploration well reached a total vertical depth of 7,090 feet (2,161 meters) in the Paleocene Lista formation using semisub Transocean Winner.

The primary objective of the well was to prove oil in the upper Paleocene reservoir rocks in the Hermod formation. Both the Caterpillar main exploration well, as well as its sidetrack, encountered an 85 and 79 foot (26 and 24 meter) oil column, respectively, in sandstone reservoirs in the Hermod formation. Preliminary gross resource range for the Caterpillar discovery is estimated at 5 to 12 MMboe.

The operator is planning to tie-back the Caterpillar discovery to the Boyla development, formerly Marihone, located about 5 miles (8 kilometers) to the southeast. Marathon operates the license, holding a 65% interest. Partners in the license include Lundin (15%) and ConocoPhillips (20%).