LONDON, May 14 -- Smedvig AS semisubmersible drill rig West Alpha has started drilling an exploration and appraisal well on Statoil AS's Gudrun discovery in the Norwegian North Sea with an eye on proving up the commerciality of the find.
The Gudrun discovery -- made through two wells drilled in 1975 and 1979 but left underdeveloped because of its "complicated" high-pressure, high-temperature reservoir -- is on Block 15/3 on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, some 45 km north of Sleipner East field.
"The purpose is to prove sufficient amounts of oil, gas and condensate to develop the Gudrun find," said Lars Jan Jaarvik, Statoil's exploration manager for the Troll/Sleipner area.
The E&A well, 15/3-7, will be to drilled 4,800 m TD to assess Middle and Upper Jurassic sands.
Statoil said it expects to complete the drilling project, a cooperative effort between licensees in production licenses 025 and 187, by the beginning of August.
The Norwegian oil and gas company is the operator in PL 025. BP has joined as a new partner in PL 025 and it is also the operator in PL 187.
Statoil has a 46.8% share in PL 025, BP PLC holds 25%, TotalFinaElf SA has 18.2%, and Norsk Hydro AS holds 10%.
