Exploration/discoveries

Lundin Energy Completes Barents Sea Exploration Well, Comes Up Dry

The well was meant to prove hydrocarbons in Triassic-aged sandstones within the Kobbe formation of the Polmak prospect.

Ship by oil platform
<i>Source: Lundin Energy.</i>
Source: Lundin Energy.

Lundin Energy has completed exploration well 7221/4-1, targeting the Polmak prospect in licenses PL609 and PL1027, in the southern Barents Sea.

The well was meant to prove hydrocarbons in Triassic-aged sandstones within the Kobbe formation of the Polmak prospect. After finding indications of hydrocarbons in a 9-m interval in poor-quality reservoir in the targeted formation, the well was classified as dry.

The well was drilled 30 km east of the Johan Castberg discovery, by the Seadrill-operated West Bollsta semisubmersible rig.

Lundin Energy, operator of Polmak, holds a 47.51% working interest. Partners are Wintershall DEA Norge AS (25%), Inpex Norge AS (10%), DNO Norge AS (10%), and Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS (7.5%).

Polmak is the first of Lundin’s three high-impact exploration prospects drilled this quarter in the Barents Sea; the wells target gross unrisked prospective resources of over 800 million bbl of oil.

The West Bollsta rig will now proceed to drill the Lundin Energy-operated Bask prospect in PL533B. Well 7219/11-1 will target Paleocene-aged sandstones, estimated to hold gross unrisked prospective resources of 250 million bbl of oil.