Oil discovery in the Norwegian Sea (6507/8-12 S)

The well tested the "Othello South" prospect, 4 kilometres north of the Heidrun field and 240 kilometres west of Sandnessjøen.

Preliminary estimates indicate the size of the discovery is between 0.15 and 2 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent. This corresponds to 0.95 – 12.6 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.

Production licence 124 B was carved out from production licence 124 on 30 September 2024. Nine exploration wells have already been drilled in production licence 124, and this is the first exploration well in production licence 124 B.

The licensees will assess the discovery with a view toward further developing the northern part of the Heidrun field.

The well was drilled by the Cosl Innovator drilling rig, which is now moving on to drill well 6610/7-U-3 in production licence 1014 in the Norwegian Sea. The objective of the well is to verify potential shallow gas deposits.

Geological information

The well's objective was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Early Jurassic (Åre Formation) and Late Triassic ("Grey Beds").

Wildcat well 6507/8-12 S encountered multiple oil-bearing sandstone layers in the Åre Formation, which has an overall thickness of 208 metres. The well proved an oil column totalling about 14 metres in the upper part of the Åre Formation, in sandstone with good to very good reservoir quality. In deeper parts of the formation, the well encountered oil-bearing sand with poor to moderate reservoir quality. The volume has not yet been estimated for this level, which is considered to be a potential upside. The oil/water contact was not encountered.

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

Well 6507/8-12 S was drilled to a vertical depth of 2477 metres below sea level and was terminated in Red Beds from the Triassic.

Water depth at the site is 374 metres, and the well will be permanently plugged and abandoned.