Wintershall strikes gas southwest of Aasta Hansteen field

STAVANGER -- Wintershall Norge AS, operator of production licence 894, is in the process of concluding the drilling of wildcat well 6604/5-1. The well has been drilled about 115 km southwest of Aasta Hansteen field in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea.

The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks (the Springar formation). Well 6604/5-1 encountered three gross gas columns, totalling about 190 m, of which the reservoir makes up 90 m distributed between three different sandstone zones in the Springar formation, with mainly moderate to poor reservoir quality. No gas/water contact was encountered in the well.

Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 7 and 19 Bscm of recoverable gas and between 1 and 3 MMscm of recoverable condensate. The licensees will evaluate the discovery together with other discoveries and prospects in the area with regard to a potential further development.

The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been conducted. This is the first exploration well in production licence 894. Well 6604/5-1 was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,819 m below the sea surface, and was terminated in the Springar formation in the Upper Cretaceous. Water depth at the site is 1,219 m. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned. Well 6604/5-1 was drilled by the West Phoenix drilling facility, which will now proceed to Invergordon for reclassification.