Lundin drills new target in Barents Sea

Aug. 6, 2014
The Island Innovator has spudded an exploration well for Lundin Norway on the Alta prospect in Barents Sea license PL609.

Offshore staff

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – The Island Innovator has spudded an exploration well for Lundin Norway on the Alta prospect in Barents Sea license PL609.

Well 7220/11-1 is roughly 20 km (12.4 mi) northeast of Lundin’sGohta discovery.

The main aim is to prove hydrocarbons in Triassic sandstones and in the Permo-Carboniferous, with potential resources estimated at up to 261 MMboe.Drilling is expected to require around 60 days.

Later this summer Lundin plans to drill the Vollgrav exploratory well on PL631 in the northern Norwegian North Sea between the Statfjord and Gullfaks fields, targeting 57 MMboe.

During 4Q the company is lining up more wells in theNorth Sea on the Utsira High Kopervik prospect in PL625, northwest of the Johan Sverdrup field (163 MMboe) and on Storm in PL555 (89 MMboe). It also plans to drill the Lindarormen well on PL584 in the Norwegian Sea southwest of the Draugen field (194 MMboe).

As for the company’s current Norwegian development projects, the semisubmersibleTransocean Winneris drilling the second production well on the Bøyla field, a 28-km (17.4-mi) subsea tieback to the Alvheim FPSO. First oil is expected in 1Q 2015, peaking at 20 MMboe/d.

The steel jacket is in place at the Edvard Grieg offshore location and laying is under way of the 94-km (58.4-mi) gaspipeline to connect to the Sage Beryl gas system in the UK sector.

Kvaerner aims for mechanical completion of the topsides toward the end of 2014, followed by commissioning and offshore installation in spring 2015. Apply Leirvik has delivered the living quarters module to the Kvaerner yard in Stord for integration with the other topside equipment.

Installation of the 43-km (26.7-mi) Edvard Grieg oil export line should also start next spring. The Y-connection is already in place at Statoil’s Grane oil pipeline.

The jackupRowan Vikingis expected to begin development drilling later this summer, and the field should produce first oil as planned during 4Q 2015.

Recently Lundin completed an appraisal well (16/1-18) on the southeastern part of the Edvard Grieg field, encountering 62 m (203 ft) of conglomeratic sandstone, mostly with good reservoir quality. The company plans another well in the southern part of Edvard Grieg to better understand the distribution of this sandstone.

As forJohan Sverdrup, production is scheduled to start in late 2019 with a capacity in the 315-380 MMboe/d range. The company anticipates 40-50 production and injection wells will be drilled to support Phase 1 production. A semisubmersible rig will likely drill 11-17 wells prior to first oil.

Lundin estimates the overall capital investment for Phase 1, including oil and gas export pipelines and a power supply from shore, at NOK 100-120 billion ($9.44-11.33 billion), including contingencies and allowances for future increases in market rates. In addition, the Phase 1 field center will feature spare capacity to facilitate future phases of development and potential enhanced recovery.

A 274-km (170-mi) 36-in. oil pipeline will be installed and connected to the Mongstad oil terminal on Norway’s west coast, while a 165-km (102-mi) 18-in. gas pipeline will be laid and connected to the Kårstø gas terminal for processing and onward transportation.

Operator Statoil and its partners expect to submit a plan of development for Phase 1 to the Norwegian government in early 2015.

Finally in the Dutch sector, Lundin expects two development wells to start drilling this summer on the E17a/b and K4b/K5a fields in the North Sea. A recent exploration well on E17a/b has encountered gas, and is undergoing tests. Lundin has minority interests in all three wells.

08/06/2014