Gas/condensate discovery in the North Sea (25/7-13)

Exploration well 25/7-13 was drilled in production licence 782 S, 16 kilometres northwest of the Balder field and 205 kilometres west of Stavanger.

Preliminary estimates indicate the size of the discovery is between 0.1 and 2.1 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent (o.e.).

This is the third well drilled in production licence 782 S, which was awarded in 2015 (APA 2014). The licensees are now reviewing the result from well 25/7-13 and the other wells to consider further prospectivity (exploration potential) in the production licence.

Exploration well 25/7-13 was drilled by the COSL Innovator drilling rig, which is now moving on to production licence 50 HS in the northern part of the North Sea, where it will drill wildcat well 34/10-56 S, also operated by Equinor.

Geological information

The primary exploration target for well 25/7-13 was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Late Jurassic in the Draupne Formation (Brae Formation-equivalent).

Wildcat well 25/7-13 encountered gas/condensate in separate sandstone layers in the Draupne Formation with a total thickness of 13 metres. The sandstone layers were of moderate reservoir quality.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 4606 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Heather Formation from the Late Jurassic.

The well was not formation-tested, but extensive volumes of data and samples were collected, including cores and hydrocarbon samples.

Water depth at the site is 126 metres, and the well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.