Drilling programs start at Tambar, Brage offshore Norway

June 22, 2017
Aker BP’s Tambar infill and gas lift project in the southern Norwegian Sea is under way, according to partner Faroe Petroleum.

Offshore staff

ABERDEEN, UKAker BP’s Tambar infill and gas lift project in the southern Norwegian Sea is under way, according to partner Faroe Petroleum.

This is designed to boost production from Tambar from 2018 onwards, and involves installation of gas lift for up to five wells and the drilling of two infill wells.

Gas lift should improve flow rates as the water cut starts to increase. TheMærsk Interceptor should arrive on location between October and December to drill the infill wells and provide accommodation.

At theWintershall-operated Brage field, also in the North Sea, the platform’s drilling rig has been remobilized as planned to drill three wells, comprising one producer-injector pair in the Statfjord horizon and one producer in the Fensfjord.

The first Statfjord producer should come onstream in September. Further infill drilling beyond the current three wells will depend on results from current campaign.

In February, the PL422 joint venture for the 2010 Fogelberg discovery, operated by Centrica, secured a license extension with a view to submitting a plan of development and operation by July 2019. Faroe says the partners have committed to drill an appraisal well ahead of initiating front-end engineering and design.

This will be drilled in a down-dip location with the aim of proving up further 2P reserves, and a side track could follow on the crest of the structure to conduct a production test, with a view to optimizing the well count and design (and potential cost) for the development.

Drilling, to be performed by the semisubmersibleDeepsea Bergen, should start in late 2017 or early 2018 directly after completion of the Wellesley Petroleum-operated Goanna well in license PL881, east of the Snorre and Statfjord fields. This will target a structural and stratigraphic prospect in Upper Jurassic age sandstones

At Faroe’sBrasse discovery in license PL740/B, not far from Brage, a drillstem test is under way which should provide confirmation of well productivity, investigate reservoir distribution, and provide additional information for development planning. 

Finally, Nexen Petroleum has become operator of Irish license option 16/23 after agreeing on farm-in terms with Faroe, giving Nexen an 80% interest.

The new operator will cover all costs of the work program, including any acquisition of seismic data and possible drilling of an exploration well, if a positive drilling decision follows the seismic work phase.

06/22/2017