Offshore staff

STAVANGER, Norway --Det norske Oljeselskap has made a dual oil discovery in Palaeocene reservoir rocks while drilling the Storskrymten prospect in the Norwegian North Sea.

Well 15/12-18S, drilled by the jackupMaersk Giant in 90 m (295 ft) water depth, initially had two targets. In the Palaeocene, it encountered a 23-m (75-ft) oil column in sandstone with good reservoir properties belonging to the Ty formation. The well was deepened to the Jurassic, where it penetrated 9-m (29-ft) thick sandstones (the Grytkollen prospect), but no hydrocarbons.

Subsequently, the partners opted to drill a sidetrack (15/12-18A) to appraise the Stroskrymten oil discovery. This section found sand at a deeper level in the Ty formation and oil in overlying sandstones in the Heimdal formation. It was later completed in late-Cretaceous sediments at a depth of 3,036 m (9,960 ft).

According to partner Dana Petroleum, current estimates suggest in-place oil in Storskyrmten of 107 MMbbl, of which 9-44 MMbbl may be recoverable. A subsea tieback might be feasible to the FPSOPetrojarl Varg 17 km (10.6 mi) to the south.

11/20/2007