Oil and gas discovery in the North Sea (35/10-15 S and A)

The oil and gas discovery in wells 35/10-15 S and A was made in the northern part of the North Sea, specifically 27 km northwest of the Troll C platform and 44 km southwest of the Gjøa platform. These are the first and second exploration wells in production licence 1182 S, which was awarded in APA 2022.

The wells were drilled using the Deepsea Yantai exploration rig.

Preliminary calculations place the size of the discovery between 6.1 and 11.8 million Sm3 of recoverable oil equivalent (o.e.), which corresponds to between 38.4 and 74.2 million barrels of recoverable o.e. The licensees will consider a potential development and further follow-up of the discovery alongside other discoveries and prospects in the vicinity.

There is substantial exploration activity in the area. Kjøttkake is an injectite discovery similar to the 35/10-8 S Kveikje and 35/10-9 Heisenberg discoveries, which are located in PL 293 B and PL 827 S, respectively, in the same area.

Geological information

The objective of the wells was to prove petroleum in Palaeocene reservoir rocks in the Sotra Formation, and to confirm the extent of the reservoir and delineate the discovery.

Well 35/10-15 S encountered a 9-metre gas column and a 41-metre oil column in the Sotra Formation in multiple sandstone layers totalling 11 metres with good reservoir quality.

The gas/oil contact was encountered at 1857 metres below sea level, and the oil/water contact was encountered at 1898 metres below sea level.

The sidetrack 35/10-15 A was drilled horizontally through the oil zone in the Sotra Formation, and confirmed the oil/water contact encountered in 35/10-15 S.

The wells were not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling was undertaken.
Well 35/10-15 S was drilled to a vertical depth of 2067 metres below sea level and was terminated in the Shetland Group in the Upper Jurassic.

Well 35/10-15 A was drilled to a measured depth of 3282 metres and a vertical depth of 1927 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Lista Formation in the Lower Palaeocene.
The water depth is 356 metres. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned.