CNOOC Makes Major New Oil Discovery in North Sea Off Scotland

By Eddytb Foto / Shutterstock

China state oil company CNOOC on Tuesday announced a major new oil discovery at the Glengorm prospect in the U.K. sector of the North Sea.

The Glengorm discovery is located in License P2215 in the Central North off Aberdeen, Scotland in a water depth of approximately 86 meters. CNOOC said exploration well was drilled to a total depth of 5,056 meters and encountered net gas and condensate pay zones with a total thickness of 37.6 meters.

CNOOC Petroleum Europe, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, is operator of the license holding 50% interest. The remaining interest is held by Total and Euroil, a subsidiary of Edison E&P, each having 25%.

Total said recoverable resources are estimated close to 250 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Oil analysts described the find as the largest in the North Sea since the Culzean field was discovered in 2008, BBC reported. Total operates the Culzean gas field with a 49.99% working interest. 

The P2215 license was previously part of the Maersk Oil portfolio. Its location is close to existing infrastructures operated by Total, which Total says offers tie-back possibilities with the Elgin-Franklin platform and the Culzean project scheduled to start production this year.

It also presents some upside potential with several other prospects already identified on the same block, Total said.

“Following the recent Glendronach discovery, West of Shetland in the U.K., Glengorm is another great success for Total in the North Sea, with results at the top end of expectations and a high condensate yield in addition to the gas,” stated Kevin McLachlan, Senior Vice President Exploration at Total. “Our strong position in the region will enable us to leverage existing infrastructures nearby and optimize the development of this discovery. Glengorm is an achievement that demonstrates our capacity to create value in a mature environment thanks to our in-depth understanding of the basin.”

“Glengorm discovery demonstrates the great exploration potential of License P2215. We are looking forward to further appraisal,” said Mr. Xie Yuhong, Executive Vice President of the CNOOC.

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