Under contract by Statoil since 2013, Diamond Offshore’s Ocean Vanguard semi-submersible drilling rig has commenced drilling an appraisal well today at PL265 located on the Johan Sverdrup discovery.
Lundin Petroleum, a JV parter at PL265 notes their main objective for this well is to “investigate the Jurassic presence, reservoir thickness, quality and distribution on the north-eastern edge of the [Johan Sverdrup] discovery.”
Johan Sverdrup location
For those of you not in the drilling biz, the well will be drilled and then high tech measurement tools will be lowered into the well to evaluate what the earth looks like in that area as well as evaluate the flow rate of the proven hydrocarbon-bearing formation. Not only that, but by drilling this well and taking these measurements, a recipe for development drilling is created in the process.
When drilling a well, one of the challenges for drilling engineers and geologists is to interpret what the seismic data says and put that into a plan for what the construction of the well will look like. That is, the layers of the earth are fairly clear on the seismic data, but the pressures at those layers, their exact depths, and the type of rock (formation) won’t be accurately known until the well is actually drilled. This data is very important when it comes to planning where the different casing points will be for the well and the density of the drilling mud being used.
Lundin notes they plan to drill approximately 1,990 meters below mean sea level, an operation which is expected to take approximately 45 days.
Statoil’s partners at PL265 are Petoro (30%), Det norske oljeselskap (20%), and Lundin Norway (10%).
Transocean Barents, image: Transocean
Also operating off Norway today is the Transocean Barents, one of the two harsh-environment semi-submersibles acquired by Transocean in 2011.
Snøhvit Field location
The rig has just finished up a wildcat well for Det norske oljeselskap ASA, operator of production licence 659 in the Barents Sea, 160 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate notes that “a gross oil column of about 30 metres” was found, however it was not “commercially interesting” and exhibited very poor flow properties.
The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 2918 metres below the sea surface, and was terminated in the Klappmyss formation from the Early Triassic. The water depth is 338 metres.
After plugging and abandoning this well, the Transocean Barents will soon proceed slightly west to production license 607 where they will try their luck at wildcat well 7218/8-1 where GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS is the operator.
By Ellen Francis (Reuters) – Interpol has issued red notices for the captain and owner of the ship that carried the chemicals which devastated Beirut in an explosion in August, killing 200...
By Chen Aizhu (Reuters) – China has issued 5 million tonnes of clean marine fuel export quotas in the first release for 2021, to five companies including a private refiner,...
By Andrea Shalal (Reuters) – The United States is urging European allies and private companies to halt work that could help build the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and...
December 23, 2020
Total Views: 825
Sign Up Now for gCaptain Daily
Just enter your email and get hot news every morning
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.