Serica to pause North Eigg well for further studies

Dec. 5, 2022
Drilling results from the North Eigg exploration well in the UK northern North Sea are inconclusive.

Offshore staff

LONDON  Drilling results from the North Eigg exploration well in the UK northern North Sea are inconclusive.

Operator Serica Energy said well 3/24c-6B had reached total depth of 16,728 ft in the Jurassic Heather. While analysis suggests the well has encountered hydrocarbons, the objective sands were thinner than prognosed pre-drill.

However, the well penetrated a total of 16 ft of hydrocarbon-bearing sands that have confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons at a deeper depth than in the adjacent producing Rhum Field.

Serica was targeting gas-condensate to provide potential future feedstock (via a tieback) to the Bruce platform complex.

Assessment is underway of the wireline logging data. The company aims to determine whether a location for a future reentry and sidetrack could improve evaluation of the hydrocarbon volumes in North Eigg.

The company plans to suspend the well pending the results of this work.

Chief executive Mitch Flegg said, "Although the... exploration well has not delivered the result we had hoped for, it has demonstrated the presence of hydrocarbons and provided a huge amount of high-quality data.

“In particular, the presence of hydrocarbons at deeper than expected depths will lead to a reevaluation of both North Eigg and South Eigg.”

12.05.2022