Lundin increases exploration budget for drilling offshore Norway

May 3, 2018
Lundin Norway has increased its budget for exploration and appraisal this year from $250 million to $300 million.

Offshore staff

STOCKHOLM, SwedenLundin Norway expects to participate in 10 exploration wells offshore Norway this year, targeting net unrisked resources of around 600 MMboe, and has increased its budget for exploration and appraisal this year from $250 million to $300 million.

Among the line-up is a well on the Gjøkåsen Deep prospect which will be drilled back-to-back with the Gjøkåsen Shallow well.

Drilling of the JK prospect in the newly awarded 2017 APA block has been brought forward to 2018, but due to well design issues, drilling of the Shenzhou prospect in license PL722 in the southern Barents Sea will now take place next year.

In February, a well on theAker BP-operated Frosk prospect northwest of the Bøyla field proved oil, with estimated resources in the range of 30-60 MMboe. A follow-up well is under consideration in the adjacent PL896 at the end of this year.

Last month drilling started on the Lille Prinsen prospect in PL167 in the North Sea, northeast of the Ivar Aasen field, targeting Triassic and Jurassic sands mapped to pinch-out against a basement high.

Lundin has increased its resource range for theLuno II discovery to 40-100 MMboe following a successful appraisal well earlier this year, and now plans to submit a development plan toward year-end, based on a subsea tieback to the nearby Edvard Grieg platform.

The company is also a partner in theJohan Sverdrup project in the North Sea. In this case, the drilling platform topsides is currently at the Aibel yard in Haugesund for final hook-up and completion.

Construction of the remaining two steel jackets is under way at Kvaerner Verdal and at the Dragados yard in southern Spain. The drilling platform topsides and the two jackets are all due to be installed by September.

In South Korea,Samsung Heavy Industries continues construction of the topsides for the process platform with work on the living quarter platform ongoing at Kvaerner Stord. Both topsides should be installed next spring.

As for development drilling, eight production wells and 10 water injectors have so far been completed.

05/03/2018