Appraisal drilling could lead to Ormen Lange southern development

Nov. 17, 2014
Norske Shell has completed drilling the appraisal well 6305/8-2 on the deepwater Ormen Lange gas field in the southern Norwegian Sea.

Offshore staff

OSLO, NorwayNorske Shell has completed drilling the appraisal well 6305/8-2 on the deepwater Ormen Lange gas field in the southern Norwegian Sea.

The field, which has been in production since 1997, is around 130 km (81 mi) northwest of Kristiansund. The semisubmersibleTransocean Barents drilled well 6305/8-2 in 615 m (2,018 ft) of water, 7 km (4.3 mi) south-southeast of the field’s southernmost subsea template.

According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), the aim was to delineate the field to the south, as it was not clear if this area was optimally drained by the existing production wells.

The well encountered a 28-m (92-ft) gas column with an underlying water zone in the “Egga reservoir unit” with good reservoir quality.

Preliminary results do not provide a basis for reassessing the field’s expected recoverable reserves, NPD says, and the licensees will consider further expansion of this area via a tie-in to the southernmost subsea template.

This was the second appraisal well drilled in license PL250, awarded in 1999 under Norway’s 15th round.

Transocean Barents will next plug production well 6407/9-A-53-H for Norske Shell on the Draugen field in PL 093, in 250 m (820 ft) water depth. The program could last 71 days.

11/17/2014