Marathon hits pay on Marihøne in Norwegian Sea

Offshore staff

STOCKHOLM -- Operator Marathon Petroleum Norge has hit pay with exploration well 24/9-9 and two further sidetracks on the Marihøne prospect in PL340 in the Norwegian North Sea.

The objective of the wells was to prove petroleum in the Hermod Formation in Paleocene age reservoir rocks. All wells encountered oil columns in the Hermod sandstone, the company reports. The two sidetrack wells were both drilled 1.5 km (0.9 mi) from the discovery well. All three wells were drilled to a depth of approximately 2,200 m (7,218 ft).

Communication probably exists between the oil zones in the three wells, and extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out, the company says.

The size of the discovery is between 20 and 30 MMboe.

“We are very pleased to make another discovery in the Alvheim area,” says Ashley Heppenstall, president and CEO of license partner Lundin Petroleum. “The most likely development of the Marihøne discovery is a tieback to the Alvheim FPSO.”

10/21/2009