The Faroe-operated Brasse appraisal well 31/7-2S in the Norwegian North Sea has commenced (illustration: Faroe Petroleum)

Faroe Petroleum, the independent oil and gas company focusing principally on exploration, appraisal and production opportunities in Norway, the UK and Atlantic Margin, has announced the commencement of the Faroe-operated Brasse appraisal well 31/7-2S in the Norwegian North Sea (Faroe 50%).

Faroe announced the Brasse oil and gas discovery in PL740 in July 2016. The main wellbore 31/7-1 encountered an 18 metre gross gas column and a 21 metre gross oil column, and the sidetrack well (31/7-1A) encountered a 6 metre gross gas column and 25 metre gross oil column, with both wells encountering good quality Jurassic reservoir. Total gross volumes of recoverable hydrocarbons have been estimated by the Company to be 28-54 mmbbls of oil and 89-158 bcf of gas (43-80 mmboe gross in aggregate).

The main objectives of the appraisal well are to reduce the uncertainty in the reserves estimates and to provide important additional information for the development project. The Brasse appraisal well will target a seismic anomaly approximately 2 km to the southeast of the main discovery well and has the potential to de-risk further reserves upsides beyond the existing uncertainty range.

The Brasse discovery is located within tie-back distance to existing infrastructure: 13 kilometres to the south of the Brage field platform, in which the Company holds a 14.3% working interest and 13 kilometres to the south east of the Oseberg Field Centre.

Faroe, as operator, has entered into a contract with Odfjell Drilling for the use of the semi-submersible drilling rig, Deepsea Bergen, for the drilling operations.

Faroe, in cooperation with licence partner Point Resources AS (50%), will decide on a potential second appraisal on the Brasse discovery later this year, dependent upon the results of the 31/7-2S well. The well results will also be used for the ongoing evaluation of the prospectivity of the recently awarded Brasse Extension area (Faroe 50% and operator) ahead of a potential drill decision in 2018.

Graham Stewart, Chief Executive of Faroe Petroleum comments, “We are very pleased to announce the spud of the Faroe-operated Brasse appraisal well, which is designed to derisk the size and extent of the Brasse field ahead of progressing towards development sanction.”

“Brasse is one of Faroe’s most significant discoveries to date, and was the largest discovery in the Norwegian North Sea in 2016. Brasse is set to become a key project for us, and underlines our ability to continue to add significant value through low-cost exploration in our core areas. Faroe is now actively investing in pre-development and development of several of its own discoveries, each of which has the potential to transform the value of the Company in the coming years,” adds Stewart.

Tags: Faroe Petroleum