Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway --Statoil has discovered gas in the Midnattsol structure in a deepwater portion of the Norwegian Sea. The location is 40 km (25 mi) north of Ormen Lange and 30 km (18.5 mi) south of the undeveloped Ellida field.
TheTransocean Leader drilled well 6405/10-1 in 928 m (3,044 ft) of water to a TD of 3,158 m (10,360 ft) below sea level, encountering gas in a late Cretaceous reservoir. However, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) reservoir quality was poor, while small-scale formation tests revealed limited flow properties.
Statoil says it is too early to establish whether the find is commercial. NPD's preliminary estimate suggests anything in the range 1-15 bcm (35 – 530 bcf) of gas.
Following a one-month stay in a shipyard to prepare for a five-year classification, the rig will head to the Norwegian North Sea to drill another wildcat for Eni in production license PL 293.
08/29/2007
