Oil and condensate have been proven by Statoil and its partners, Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA and Svenska Petroleum Exploration AS, in the North Sea’s Krafla West prospect.

Located about 26 kilometres south-west of Oseberg South, the discovery well found hydrocarbons in two columns with a total thickness of 300 metres.

Preliminary calculations indicate that the find contains some 12.6-37.7 million recoverable barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

“The North Sea still has a considerable exploration potential,” observes Gro Gunleiksrud Haatvedt, senior vice president for the North Sea in the Exploration business area.

“Through the discoveries in Krafla and now Krafla West, we’ve proven reserves of 50-75 million boe. This must be considered a very substantial figure in a near-field context.”

The two wells are the first drilled by Statoil in the licence, she notes. “Discoveries with both wells indicate that we’ve understood how the hydrocarbon systems in this area function.”

”The Krafla and Krafla West discoveries provide the basis for a robust fast-track project,” adds Tom Dreyer, head of exploration for the northern North Sea. “They show that growth opportunities still exist in this mature part of the North Sea.”

A fast-track development of both discoveries through tie-backs to existing infrastructure in the Oseberg area will be considered.

Krafla and Krafla West lie in the same area as Stjerne, formerly Katla, which was proven in 2009 and is already covered by a plan for development and operation (PDO) from Statoil.

The Krafla/Krafla West wells were drilled from Ocean Vanguard, which is now moving to production licence 569 at the southern end of Norway’s North Sea sector to drill for Statoil on the Theta North-East prospect.

The licensees in the latest discovery are Statoil as operator with 50%, Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA with 25% and Svenska Petroleum Exploration AS with 25%.

Tags: Statoil