Dry well south of the Sleipner Øst field in the North Sea – 15/12-26

Illustration image.

Illustration image.

5/18/2021 Chrysaor Norge AS, operator of production licence 973, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 15/12-26.

The well was drilled 26 kilometres south of the Sleipner Øst installation and 9 kilometres south of the Grevling discovery in the North Sea, about 240 kilometres west of Stavanger.

The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Late Jurassic (Ula Formation), and potentially underlying Late Triassic reservoir rocks (Skagerrak Formation).

The well encountered a sandstone layer of about 60 metres in the Ula Formation, with good to very good reservoir quality. The Skagerrak Formation was not encountered. The well is dry.

Data acquisition was carried out.

This is the second exploration well in production licence 973. The licence was awarded in APA 2018.

Well 15/12-26 was drilled to a vertical depth of 2,762 metres below sea level and was terminated in rocks from the Early Permian Age in the Zechstein group.

The water depth is 87 metres. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 15/12-26 was drilled by the COSLInnovator drilling facility, which is now headed for Coast Center Base (CCB Ågotnes) west of Bergen for a temporary stay at the shipyard.

Map of well 15-12-26-T2

Contact

Ola Anders Skauby

Director Communication, public affairs and emergency response

Tel: +47 905 98 519

Updated: 5/18/2021

Latest news

Appraisal well in the North Sea increases projection (16/1-EA-4 H)
9/25/2026 Aker BP and its partners Equinor and DNO have drilled an appraisal well on the "Verdandi" and "Lillefix" discoveries in the North Sea. This well increases the projected discovery size.
Production figures August 2026
9/22/2026 Preliminary production figures for August 2026 show an average daily production of 2 073 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate.
Aker BP has made a gas discovery in the North Sea (36/4-2 and 36/4-2 A)
9/16/2026 Preliminary calculations show that the size is between 0.15 and 2.4 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalent (Sm3 of o.e.), which corresponds to 1-15 million barrels.
Drilling permit for wellbore 25/9-5 S
9/15/2026 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor Energy AS drilling permit for wellbore 25/9-5 S in production licence 1042.
Growing exploration interest
9/11/2026 The authorities have received applications from 21 companies in the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2025. The deadline for applications was 1 September.
New NCS map 2026
9/8/2026 You can now download or order a printed version of the Directorate's most recent map of the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
Resource report 2026 in English
9/8/2026 The Resource report is now also available in English.
New director at the Norwegian Offshore Directorate
9/7/2026 Siv Fagerland Christensen has taken up her position as Director of governance, finance and shared services.
Register for our seminar on sub-basalt exploration
8/31/2026 Welcome to a seminar on sub-basalt exploration on 15 October 2026 at our offices. The seminar speakers will represent operators, suppliers, academia and the authorities.
Okea receives award for improved recovery on its oil fields
8/25/2026 This year's winner of the Norwegian Offshore Directorate's “Improved Recovery Award” has worked systematically to revitalise the Draugen and Brage fields.