Oil discovery near the Fram field in the North Sea – 31/2-22 S and 31/2-22 A

The wells were drilled about 3 kilometres southwest of the Fram field in the northern North Sea and 120 kilometres northwest of Bergen.

The primary exploration target for wildcat well 31/2-22 S was to prove petroleum in the Sognefjord Formation from the Late Jurassic Age.
The secondary target of the well was to investigate reservoir properties in the Fensfjord Formation from the Middle Jurassic Age.

The primary exploration target for wildcat well 31/2-22 A was to prove petroleum in the Sognefjord Formation in the neighbouring structure west of 31/2-22 S.

Well 31/2-22 S encountered a total oil column of about 30 metres in the upper part of the Sognefjord Formation, 25 metres of which was sandstone with very good reservoir quality. It also encountered an oil column of about 50 metres in the lower part of the Sognefjord Formation, about 40 metres of which was sandstone with good to very good reservoir quality.

The oil/water contacts were proven at 1,860 metres and 1,960 metres, respectively, below sea level.

The well encountered about 65 metres of sandstone in the Fensfjord Formation, with moderate to good reservoir quality.

Wildcat well 31/2-22 A encountered about 55 metres of water-bearing sandstone with good to very good reservoir quality in the upper part of the Sognefjord Formation and about 25 metres of water-bearing sandstone with poor to good reservoir quality in the lower part of the Sognefjord Formation. The well is classified as dry.

The preliminary estimate of the size of the discovery is between 12 and 19 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent. The licensees have assessed the discovery as commercial and will consider tie-in to other discoveries and existing infrastructure in the area.

The wells were not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out.

These are the first and second exploration wells in production licence 090 I. The licence was awarded in APA 2017.

Well 31/2-22 S was drilled to a vertical depth of 2,282 metres and a measured depth of 2,379 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Heather Formation from the Middle Jurassic Age. Well 31/2-22 A was drilled to a vertical depth of 2,035 metres and a measured depth of 2,207 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the lower part of the Sognefjord Formation.

Water depth at the site is 349 metres. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned.

The wells were drilled by the West Hercules drilling facility, which will now drill wildcat well 34/6-5 S in production licence 554 in the northern North Sea, where Equinor Energy AS is the operator.