Statoil Petroleum has drilled a dry wildcat exploration well on the Ensis prospect in production license (PL) 393 B in the Barents Sea.
The well, 7125/4-3, was drilled about 4km south of the 7125/4-1 oil and gas discovery and about 105km northeast of Hammerfest.
The exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in Early Cretaceous reservoir rocks (intra-Knurr formation).
Well 7125/4-3 encountered about. 35m-thick reservoir rocks with poor reservoir quality in the Knurr formation. Data acquisition and sampling have been carried out.
This is the first exploration well in production licence 393 B, which was carved out from production licence 393 in 2010.
The well was drilled to a 993m vertical depth below the sea surface and was terminated in the Hekkingen formation in the Late Jurassic. Water depth is 294m. The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.
Statoil is operator with 25% interest, alongside partners Cairn Energy (25%), Concedo (20%), Petoro (20%), and OMV (10%).
Well 7125/4-3 was drilled by the Transocean Spitsbergen (pictured) semisubmersible drilling facility, which will now drill wildcat well 7319/12-1 in PL 713, where Statoil Petroleum is the operator.