Aker BP has made a natural gas discovery with exploration well 7324/6-2 in the Barents Sea, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). This is the first well in production license 1170, which was awarded in the Awards in Predefined Areas in 2022. The well tested a prospect dubbed Ferdinand Nord and was drilled by Saipem semisubmersible Scarabeo 8. Preliminary estimates indicate that the size of the discovery is between 3.3 million and 4.7 million BOE of recoverable resource.
The licensees are assessing the discovery together with other discoveries and prospects in the area with a view toward a potential development, according to the NPD.
Well 7324/6-2 was drilled to a vertical depth of 1246 m below sea level in a water depth of 422 m. The primary exploration target for the probe was to prove the existence of a petroleum system in Middle Jurassic to Upper Triassic reservoir rocks in the Stø and Fruholmen formations.
The secondary exploration target for the well was the Upper Triassic reservoir rocks in the Snadd formation.
Well 7324/6-2 encountered a 12 m gas column in the Stø formation in two sandstone layers totalling 10.5 m, with good to very good reservoir quality.
The well did not encounter reservoir rock in the Fruholmen formation.
Above the secondary exploration target, a 6 m gas column was encountered in the Snadd Formation in a sandstone layer with moderate reservoir quality.
The gas/water contact was not encountered in either of the gas-bearing zones.
Well 7324/6-2 encountered the secondary exploration target in the Snadd formation with a total of about 40 m of sandstone with poor reservoir quality, with traces of hydrocarbons.
The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been conducted.
The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.
