Operator Statoil and its PL146/PL333 partner Total E&P Norge have made a gas and condensate discovery in the Julius prospect in the King Lear area in the North Sea.

The discovery well 2/4-23S, drilled by Maersk Gallant, proved gas and condensate in the Ula formation. Statoil estimates the volumes in Julius to be between 15 and 75 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.

The well 2/4-23S aimed also to appraise the King Lear gas and condensate discovery made by the PL146/PL333 partnership in 2012.

The well provided important information on reservoir distribution and reservoir communication in the King Lear discovery. The acquired data will now be further analysed.

It is expected that the King Lear volumes will stay within the previously communicated range of 70-200 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.

“The King Lear and Julius discoveries are located in one of the most mature parts of the Norwegian continental shelf - just 20 kilometres north of Ekofisk, the first commercial NCS discovery made 45 years ago. The discoveries confirm Statoil’s view that even such mature areas of the NCS still have an interesting exploration potential,” says May-Liss Hauknes, Statoil vice president for exploration in the North Sea.

“Since the King Lear discovery, the main focus of the licence partnership has been to clarify the resource basis within PL146/PL333. Following the positive results of the Julius well, the partnership will start working on an optimal plan for a timely development of the discovered resources. The Julius discovery will be included in the resource base for a future PL146/PL333 development decision,” says Edward Prestholm, acting head of early phase field development on the NCS in Statoil.

Tags: Statoil