Marathon hits pay with North Sea wildcat well

Offshore staff

OSLO -- Wildcat well 25/4-10 S in the North Sea has hit pay, according to operator Marathon Petroleum Norge. The well encountered 7-m (23-ft) thick sandstones in the Hermod formation, the company reports.

Preliminary estimates indicate the discovery contains between 0.5 and 1.5 MMcm of recoverable oil. The company completed data acquisition and sampling, but no formation testing.

The licensees are evaluating whether the discovery can be produced via the nearby Alvheim field production ship.

The semisub Transocean Winner drilled the well to a vertical depth of 2,196 m (7,205 ft) below the sea surface. The well was terminated in Paleocene rocks (the Heimdal formation) and will be permanently plugged and abandoned.

11/19/2009