Offshore staff
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Drilling is under way on the Skalle exploration prospect in the Norwegian Barents Sea. The location is north of the producing Snøhvit field in production license 438.
Operator Lundin Petroleum says well 7120/2-3 will test Cretaceous and Jurassic/Triassic-age sandstones of a multiple-target structure. It believes Skalle could hold prospective resources of 250 MMboe.
The semisub Transocean Leader will drill the well to a planned TD of 2,650 m (8,694 ft) below mean sea level. The program should last around 60 days.
Lundin has also started its first appraisal well on last year’s Avaldsnes discovery in PL501 in the Norwegian North Sea, using the semisub Bredford Dolphin.
The main aim of well 16/3-4 is to delineate the structure, which has recoverable oil resources estimated at 100– 400 MMbbl. The well will also hopefully confirm the presence of late-Jurassic sand 5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of the 16/2-6 discovery well.
Planned TD is around 2,000 m (6,561 ft) below mean sea level, and drilling should last 45 days. Immediately afterwards, the same rig will spud a second appraisal well, 16/2-7.
05/16/2011
