Alta re-entry well confirms good injection potential

Sept. 30, 2016
The semisubmersible Leiv Eiriksson has completed drilling and testing of the re-entered appraisal well 7220/11-3 A (Alta-3) in the Barents Sea for operator Lundin Norway.

Offshore staff

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – The semisubmersible Leiv Eiriksson has completed drilling and testing of the re-entered appraisal well 7220/11-3 A (Alta-3) in the Barents Sea for operator Lundin Norway.

The location is on the eastern flank of the Alta discovery in license PL609, estimated to hold 125-400 MMboe.

Alta-3, first drilled last year, encountered a 120-m (393-ft) gross hydrocarbon. The aims of the re-entry were to deepen the well to assess the quality of the Permo-Carboniferous carbonate reservoir and to perform injection and production tests.

Three successful tests were conducted: two injection tests in the carbonate reservoir below the oil-water contact injected 5,000 and 18,200 b/d of seawater, with good reservoir quality and injectivity in the Falk and Ørn formations, respectively.

A production test in the gas zone in the Lower Triassic reservoir section delivered up to 21 MMcf/d of gas through a 64/64-in. choke. There was no test in the oil zone.

Pressure data from wells 7220/11-3, -3A, and -3 AR indicate good communication with the two previously drilled wells on Alta, Lundin added.

The company plans further appraisal drilling next year to fully delineate the structure.

After the Leiv Eiriksson rig has P&A’d the well it will transfer 60 km (37 mi) to the north on PL609 to re-enter the suspended well 7220/6-2, in order to complete drilling of the 204-MMboe Neiden prospect.

09/30/2016