Statoil Finds Gas near Visund Field in the North Sea

Statoil finds recoverable gas equivalent to up to 12.6 million barrels of oil on the northeast flank of the Visund field in the northern North Sea.

Norway's Statoil has discovered gas near the Visund field in the North Sea, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate reported Wednesday. The discovery is estimated to amount to between 3.2 million and 12.6 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.

The NPD said that wildcat well 34/8/17-S – located on the northeast flank of the Visund field on production license 120 in the northern part of the North Sea – was drilled to prove petroleum in Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Statfjord group). A secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Lower Jurassic (the Lower Statfjord group) and Upper Triassic reservoir rocks (the Lunde formation).

The well encountered a gross gas column of approximately 102 feet in the Tarbert, Ness and Etive formations in the Middle Jurassic – with around 65 feet being in sandstones of very good reservoir quality, the NPD said.

In the immediately underlying reservoir rocks in the Rannoch formation in the Middle Jurassic, the well encountered an approximate 69-foot petroleum column in sandstones with poor reservoir quality. Traces of petroleum were also encountered in Lower Jurassic sandstones of variable reservoir quality in the Cook formation and in the Statfjord Group. The NPD added that it is unclear whether there is oil or gas in the Rannoch and Cook formations, and in the Statfjord group. Meanwhile, the Lunde formation was found to be aquiferous.

Well 34/8/17-S is the 24th well on production license 120. It was drilled by the COSLPioneer  (mid-water semisub) drilling facility, which is now set to drill a sidetrack well elsewhere on the Visund field.

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