Equinor discovers oil near Fram field in North Sea
Equinor has discovered oil in the Troll and Fram area in exploration wells 35/10-7 S and 35/10-7 A in the Toppand prospect in the North Sea. Preliminary calculations of the expected size indicate between 3.3 and 5.2 million standard cu m of recoverable oil equivalent, or around 21–33 million BOE.
“Our exploration activity is central for our ambitions at the Norwegian continental shelf. We are pleased to see that our success in the Troll- and Fram area continues. We also regard this discovery to be commercially viable and will consider tying it to the Troll B or Troll C platform. Such discoveries close to existing infrastructure are characterized by high profitability, a short payback period and low CO2 emissions,” said Geir Sørtveit, Senior VP for Exploration & Production West Operations at Equinor.
The wells were drilled around 8 km west of the Fram field and 140 km northwest of Bergen.
Well 35/10-7 S encountered an oil column of around 75 m in the lower part of the Ness formation and in the Etive formation. There were also traces of hydrocarbons in the shale and coal dominated upper part of the Brent Group. A total of around 68 m of effective sandstone reservoir of good to very good reservoir quality was encountered in the Ness and Etive formations combined.
The Oseberg formation was around 48 m thick and filled with water. It mainly consisted of sandstone of moderate reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was not proven in the well, but by aid of pressure data it is estimated to be located at around 3,303 m. Sandstone of moderate to poor reservoir quality was encountered in the Cook formation, but the reservoir was filled with water.
Exploration well 35/10-7 A encountered a 60-m oil-filled sandstone-dominated interval in the lower part of the Ness formation and in the Etive formation. A total of around 67 m of effective sandstone reservoir of good to moderate quality were encountered in the Ness and Etive formations combined.
The Oseberg formation was around 48 m thick and mainly consisted of oil-filled sandstone of moderate reservoir quality. An oil/water contact was proven at around 3,290 m, accounting for a 30 m oil column.
Well 35/10-7 S was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,509 m below sea level and a measured depth of 3,563 m below sea level and was completed in the Dunlin Group of early Jurassic rock. Well 30/10-7 A was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,370 m below sea level and a measured depth of 3,574 m below sea level and was completed in the upper part of the Dunlin Group.
Water depth in the area is 354 m. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned. The wells were drilled by the West Hercules drilling rig, which has moved to drill exploration well 6407/9-13 in production licence 1060 in the Norwegian Sea.
