Sokkeldirektoratet

Minor oil discovery near the Visund field in the North Sea - 34/8-18 S

3/4/2019 Equinor Energy  AS, operator of production licence 120, has concluded the drilling of wildcat well 34/8-18 S.

The well was drilled about 2.5 kilometres east of the Visund A platform and 155  kilometres west of Florø in the northern part of the North Sea.

The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Early Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Statfjord group).

Well 34/8-18 S encountered an oil column of about 115 metres in the upper and lower part of the Statfjord group, with effective reservoir of 17 and 20 metres, respectively, in sandstone mainly with moderate reservoir quality. In the upper part of the Lunde formation in the Upper Triassic, about 15 metres of aquiferous sandstone with poor reservoir quality was encountered. The oil-water contact was encountered in the lower Statfjord group at about 3170 metres below sea level.

Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 2.0 and 4.5 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil. The licensees will consider linking the discovery to existing infrastructure on the Visund field.

The well was not formation-tested, but data acquisition and sampling have been carried out.

This is the 26th exploration well in production licence 120. The licence was awarded in 1985 in licensing round 10-A. 

Well 34/8-18 S was drilled to respective measured and vertical depths of 6039 and 3298 metres below the sea surface, and was terminated in the Lunde formation from the Late Triassic Age.

Water depth at the site is 335 metres. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 34/8-18 S was drilled from the Visund A platform, which will now drill development wells on the Visund field.

 

34/8-18 S

 

Contact
postboks@sodir.no

Tel: +47 51 87 60 00

Updated: 2/10/2025

Latest news

Who deserves the Improved Recovery Award?
11/25/2025 The time has come to nominate candidates for this prize, which was first awarded in 1998. Back then it was known as the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s IOR Award.
Production figures October 2025
11/20/2025 Preliminary production figures for October 2025 show an average daily production of 2 017 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate.
Drilling permit for well 33/12-N-3 GH and 33/12-N-3 HH
11/20/2025 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor Energy AS drilling permit for wellbore 33/12-N-3 GH in production licence 037 B/152 and 33/12-N-3 HH in production licence 037 B/277.
Dry well in the North Sea (2/6-8 S and 2/6-8 ST2)
11/18/2025 DNO and its partners have drilled a dry well in the "Page" prospect in the southern part of the North Sea, about 270 kilometres from Stavanger and 40 kilometres from Ekofisk.
What would you like to learn more about at Technology Day 2026?
11/17/2025 The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is pleased to announce Technology Day 2026. Save the date – 4 June 2026 – and take this opportunity to nominate speakers for the event!
New Dashboard: Resource stats by company
11/14/2025 Our new Dashboard provides an overview of the licensees’ respective petroleum resources and reserves on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
Delineation of the “Zagato” oil discovery in the Barents Sea – 7122/8-4 S
11/13/2025 Vår Energi's appraisal well 7122/8-4 S confirms the 7122/8-3 S (“Zagato”) oil discovery, which was proven in February.
New technology is profitable when shutting down wells
11/13/2025 About 2900 wellbores on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) will be plugged and shut down in the years to come, but development and implementation of new technology can save the industry and society considerable costs.
Dry well in the North Sea (34/6-9 S)
11/11/2025 Equinor and its partners have drilled a dry well in the Snorre area in the North Sea.
Dry well in the North Sea (30/11-16 S)
11/7/2025 Aker BP and its partners have drilled a dry well in the Yggdrasil area in the North Sea.