From left: Former Oil and Energy Minsiter Ola Borten Moe, CEO Ashley Heppenstall, and General manager Torstein Sannes in Lundin Norway. (Photo: OED/Lise Rist )

Lundin Norway  announce that drilling of exploration well 7220/11-1 on the Alta prospect in the Barents Sea has been successfully completed and has encountered both oil and gas. The well is located 20 km northeast of the Gohta discovery (well 7120/1-3) and some 160 km from the Norwegian coastline.

The Alta discovery is a significant predominantly oil discovery in the southern Barents Sea. Alta is close to the nearby Gohta discovery ‎made by Lundin Petroleum just over a year ago. This discovery is another positive step in relation to proving up sufficient resources in the Loppa High area of the Barents Sea to enable the development of oil production infrastructure. We are very excited about this discovery and the potential in the Loppa High area where we are likely to drill three or four appraisal/exploration wells in 2015. In licence PL609 we have identified several multi hundred million barrel prospects on trend with Alta and Gohta. Our drilling successes in the Barents Sea have been made possible by extensive preparatory work including comprehensive environmental assessments and the mapping of sea bottom conditions. The Loppa High area is impacted by the Gulf Stream and as such is ice free all year and far from the maximum southern edge of the ice edge.” say Ashley Heppenstall, President and CEO for Lundin.

" In licence PL609 we have identified several multi hundred million barrel prospects on trend with Alta and Gohta "

The main objective of well 7220/11-1 was to prove the presence of hydrocarbons in reservoir rocks of Permo-Carboniferous and Triassic age. The well encountered a gross hydrocarbon column of 57 metres consisting of 11 metres gas and 46 metres oil in carbonate rocks of good reservoir quality.

Extensive data acquisition and sampling was carried out in the reservoir, including conventional coring and fluid sampling. Two production tests (DSTs) were performed in the oil zone, producing at a maximum rate of 3,260 barrels of oil per day and 1.7 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMcfd) through a 36/64” choke constrained by rig facilities. The gas/oil ratio was 94 Sm3/Sm3.

The semi-submersible drilling rig Island Innovator. Photo: Odfjell Drilling

Following the results of well 7220/11-1 the preliminary evaluation of the gross recoverable oil and gas resource range in the Alta accumulation is estimated at 125 to 400 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe). The oil resource range is estimated at 85 to 310 million barrels of oil (MMbbls).

With the Alta discovery the remaining prospectivity on PL609 has been further de-risked. The Neiden and Børselv prospects further north in PL609 are drill-ready and both of these prospects have the potential to contain material prospective resources.

Tags: Lundin Petroleum