StatoilHydro Makes Small Gas Discovery at Canon Prospect

A small gas condensate discovery has been made by StatoilHydro in the Canon prospect, about 11 kilometers west of the Veslefrikk field in the North Sea.

The purpose of the exploration well was to prove petroleum in a fault block between the Huldra and Oseberg fields.

The well tested two reservoir levels -- an upper one belonging to the Brent group and a deeper level in the Statfjord group.

"The exploration well struck gas condensate in the Brent group but the reservoir was thinner than expected and the find is probably not commercial," said Tom Dreyer, StatoilHydro's vice president for infrastructure exploration in the North Sea.

Deeper in the structure, the well struck sandstone belonging to the Statfjord group. Data gathered from this interval showed that the reservoir consisted of tight sand and was probably full of water.

Drilled by the West Alpha semisubmersible, the well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned. The rig's charter with StatoilHydro will terminate once the well is completed.

This is the second well to be tested in the Canon structure. An exploration well drilled in 2000 provided inconclusive results about the economic potential of the structure.

The licensees in production license 052 are: operator StatoilHydro (18%), Petoro (37.0%), RWE Dea Norge (13.5%), Revus Energy (4.5%) and Talisman Resources Norge (27.0%).

Facts

• The exploration well in the Canon prospect is termed 30/3-10 S
• The gas condensate find was made in the Brent group in Middle Jurassic rocks, on the eastern flank of Viking Graben
• Well 30/3-10 S was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,962 meters; water depth in the area is 122 meters
• The exploration well drilled in 2000 is termed 30/3-9