Aker BP has revealed that the Øst Frigg Beta/Epsilon exploration well located in the Yggdrasil area in the Norwegian North Sea has resulted in a “significant” oil find.
Preliminary estimates indicate a gross recoverable volume of 40-90 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to the company, which noted that this number exceeded a previously reported pre-drilling estimate of 18-45 million barrels of oil equivalent of oil
Aker BP said the discovery improves the resource base for Yggdrasil development, which it noted was previously declared at 650 million crude barrels of oil equivalent. the development and operations plan was submitted to Norwegian authorities in December 2022, and production was scheduled to begin in 2027, Aker BP noted.
“We are very pleased with the results of this well,” Per Øyvind Seljebotn, Aker BP’s vice president of exploration and reservoir development, said in a company statement.
“The discovery will be evaluated as a possible addition to the development of Yggdrasil. We see more potential around Yggdrasil and, in collaboration with our partners, we will continue active exploration in the area,” added Seljebotn.
Aker BP’s discovery is located within production licenses 873 and 442. The company is the operator of both licenses, with a 47.7% interest in license 873, along with Equinor (40%) and PGNiG Upstream Norway (12.3%), and a stake of 87.7%. in license 442, together with PGNiG Upstream Norway (12.3%).
At the time of writing, Equinor and PGNiG Upstream Norway had made no mention of the discovery on their websites.
One of Many
Aker BP’s latest find is one of many made offshore Norway this year. Earlier this month, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) announced a gas/condensate discovery near the Kristin field in the Norwegian Sea, through the wild-type well 6406/5-2 S, and in April announced an oil discovery near the Gudrun field in the North Sea, by well 15/2-2 S.
The main exploration objective of well 6406/5-2 S was to test for oil in Middle and Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Garn, Ile and Tofte formations), NPD noted, adding that the preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery in the Garn. Formation between 0.2 and 1.1 million Sm3 (standard cubic meters) of recoverable oil equivalent. The preliminary estimate of the size of the 15/2-2 S well discovery is between 0.95 and 5.55 million Sm3 of recoverable oil equivalent, according to the NPD.
Also in April, the NPD announced an oil discovery in the North Sea, via well 25/4-15, noting that preliminary calculations put the size of the discovery at between 0.5 and 0.8 million barrels Sm.3 of recoverable oil. In March, NPD announced an oil and gas discovery near the Fram field in the North Sea, through well 35/10-9, and an oil discovery near the Goliat field in the Barents Sea. Preliminary estimates placed the size of the former between 3.8 and 13.3 million Sm3 Recoverable oil equivalent, according to the NPD. Preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery near Goliath, in the segment that was drilled, were between 0.5 and 2.1 million Sm.3 the equivalent of recoverable oil, highlighted the NPD.
In February, the NPD revealed that oil had been discovered near the Ivar Aasen field in the North Sea and that oil and gas had been discovered near the Troll field in the North Sea. Preliminary estimates place the size of the former between 0.5 and 1.4 million Sm3 of recoverable oil equivalent and the latter between 2.7 and 7.4 million Sm3 of recoverable oil equivalent, highlighted the NPD.
In January, NPD announced a gas discovery near the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea, through wells 6605/1-2 S and 6605/1-2 A. Preliminary estimates put the size of the discovery at between two and 11,000 million. Sm3 of recoverable gas, the NPD revealed.
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