Offshore staff

STAVANGER, Norway --Statoil has concluded drilling two appraisal wells on its recent Ermintrude discovery in the North Sea.

The wells, drilled by the jackupWest Epsilon in 114 m (374 ft) of water, confirmed gas and condensate at the top of the structure, with oil further down, both in Mid-Jurassic sandstones. Statoil estimates recoverable yield at 8-12 MMcm (283-424 MMcf) of oil equivalent.

The location is in production license 303, 7 km (4.35 mi) north of the Sleipner area, and 3 km (1.86 mi) east of the Dagny discovery.

According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the licensees will evaluate development options that include tie-ins to the Sleipner, Volve, and Gudrun fields. The rig has moved on to drill an appraisal well in the Ragnarrock structure in PL 265.

07/09/2007