The Fram license again delivers an oil discovery close to infrastructure
INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS (“IIN”) (15 %) and partners Equinor Energy AS (Operator 45 %), Vår Energi AS 25 %) and Neptune Energy Norge AS (15 %) have discovered gas and oil in the 35/11-26 ST2 and 35/11-26 A wells on the Mulder and Crino prospects located about four kilometers west of the Fram field.
INPEX Idemitsu Norge is satisfied with the result of the Mulder well within the prolific Fram licenses. The hydrocarbon discovery will contribute to the steady production from the Fram infrastructure.
She adds that it is very positive that the exploration activity in the IIN licenses in the Fram area continue to deliver positive exploration results.
The primary exploration target for wildcat well 35/11-26 S was to prove hydrocarbons in the Heather Formation of Late Jurassic age, the Mulder prospect. The secondary exploration objective was to prove hydrocarbons in Brent Group of Middle Jurassic age, the Crino prospect, as well as to investigate reservoir properties in the Cook Formation of Early Jurassic age and to collect data on reservoir properties in the Lista Formation of Paleocene age.
The purpose of wildcat well 35/11-26 A was to delineate the discovery in the Heather Formation.
Well 35/11-26 ST2 encountered a total gas condensate column of seven metres and an oil column of 26 metres in the Heather Formation. The oil-water contact was not detected. In total, about 33 metres of effective sandstone reservoir of good to very good reservoir quality was found.
Moderate to good reservoirs were detected in the Brent Group and the Cook Formation in 35/11-26 ST2. Both secondary exploration targets were water-filled.
Wildcat well 35/11-26 A also encountered sandstones of good reservoir quality in the Heather Formation, but the main reservoir was water-filled. The oil-water contact was estimated from pressure gradients and gives a total oil column of approximately 88 metres in the structure.
Furthermore, oil and gas have been proven in shallower intra Heather sandstones in both wells, representing an upside potential.
Preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery are between 1.5 and 5.5 million standard cubic metres (SM3) of recoverable oil equivalents. The licensees consider the discovery commercial and will consider tie-in to other recent discoveries as well as existing infrastructure in the area.
The well was not formation tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out.
These are the 21st and 22nd exploration wells in production license 090. The license was awarded on 9 March1984 in APA1984.
The wells were drilled by the Deepsea Stavanger drilling rig.
INPEX Idemitsu Norge (IIN) is part of INPEX Corporation, Japan’s leading energy company. We entered the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in 1989 by acquiring a stake in the Snorre field. Our office is located in Lysaker and we currently employ around eighty highly skilled and experienced professionals.
