OMV: Wisting Central II Achieves 5,000 Bopd Flow Rate

OMV announced Wednesday that the Wisting Central II horizontal appraisal well in the Barents Sea has achieved flow rates of over 5,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The well, which was drilled in the Wisting field offshore Norway, aimed to confirm the potential of the discovery by proving the presence of hydrocarbons in the undrilled Wisting Central South and Central West segments. Wisting Central II also sought to prove the technical concept of long-reach horizontal wells in a shallow reservoir, about 820 feet below the seabed. The possibility to drill such wells is needed to establish the basis for a viable development of the Wisting discovery.

The well results are expected to provide an increase of in-place volumes in the Central South and Central West segments, and further reduce the overall uncertainty of contingent resources in PL537.

Wisting Central II is the first horizontal appraisal well in the Barents Sea and the fifth well in production license PL537. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Johann Pleininger, OMV executive board member responsible for Upstream, said in a company statement:

"OMV is very satisfied with the well test results, which are promising. This well is an important milestone towards a future field development on Wisting.”

OMV (Norge) AS holds a 25 percent operated interest in the PL537 license. Joint venture partners Petoro AS, Idemitsu and Tullow Oil plc each hold a 20 percent interest, with Statoil ASA holding the remaining 15 percent.