Norwegian energy firm Equinor has made an oil discovery while drilling the well at the Svalin field in the North Sea, using Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Aberdeen rig.
The oil discovery was made in well 25/11-H-1 H in production license 169. Equinor is the operator of the license, with 57% stake, with partners Petoro holding 30% and Vår Energi 13% working interest.
The licensees will consider whether the discovery is sufficiently profitable for production, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate said.
Preliminary calculations show between 0 and 0.1 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalent, which is the equivalent of between 0 and 0.6 million barrels.
The discovery was made in a development well with the Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Aberdeen rig, which earlier in May received a $121 million contract extension from Equinor for work on Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The Svalin field was proven in 1992 in sandstone from the Palaeocene to early Eocene in the Heimdal and Balder Formations, and has been in production since 2014.
The field consists of two separate structures - Svalin C and Svalin M. Svalin C has been developed with a subsea template tied back to the Grane installation and Svalin M has been developed with a multi-branch well drilled from Grane.
Development well 25/11-H-1 H encountered oil in thin sandstone layers with very good reservoir quality in the Balder Formation, which is part of the Rogaland Group.
The oil in the Balder Formation is presumed to be in pressure communication with surrounding reservoir sands in the Heimdal Formation on the Svalin C structure. The oil-water contact was not encountered.