Page 14 - Euroil Week 14 2020

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil
Aker BP makes gas find off Norway
NORWAY
Aker BP has announced a 20% cut to spending this year.
AKER BP has made a minor gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea some 50 km south-west of the Skarv field, the Norwegian Petroleum Directo- rate (NPD) announced on April 6.
The 6507/5-1 S wildcat well was drilled to a depth of 3,255 metres in waters 409 metres deep at petroleum licence (PL) 1008. Its goal was to prove petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks, the NPD said.
The probe encountered a 15-metre gas col- umn in the Lysing formation, with preliminary estimates putting the discovery’s size at between 1.0 and 2.4bn cubic metres of recoverable gas.
“The licensees will evaluate the discovery together with nearby prospects with regard to further follow-up,” the NPD said.
Neither Aker BP nor its licence partner Wellesley Petroleum have commented on the find yet. The pair own stakes of 60% and 40% respectively in the licence, with Aker BP serving as operator. The nearby Skarv gas deposit is operated by Equinor, although Aker BP is a partner there with a 23.8% equity position.
Aker BP won the PL1008 licence last year and this marks its first well at the site. The probe has been plugged and abandoned, and the Deepsea Nordkapp rig used to complete it is now en route
to Aker BP’s Alvheim field in the central North Sea.
Spending plans
AkerBP,whichis30%ownedbyBP,announced in late March it would rein in capital expendi- ture this year by 20% to cope with the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It also put all non-sanctioned projects on hold.
Its 2020 capex is now pegged at $1.2.bn, versus a $1.5bn guidance announced in February. Most of the company’s remaining spending relates to investments in the greenlit Phase 2 project at the Johan Sverdrup oilfield in the North Sea. It was able to cut $300mn from its budget by shelving work at non-sanctioned projects, including the Hod redevelopment scheme.
Aker BP has also deferred two of the 11 explo- ration wells it had planned to sink in 2020, and scaled back exploration spending this year by 20% to $400mn. It also aims to lower its produc- tion costs by around 20% to $7-8 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe).
Its output forecast is unchanged at 205,000- 220,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), and the company recently got the all-clear from authorities to bring the Skogul oilfield in the Norwegian North Sea on stream.™
Wintershall hits oil off Norway
GERMANY
Wintershall says the find could be up to 97mn barrels of oi.
GERMANY’S Wintershall Dea has struck oil in the Norwegian Sea at the Bergknapp prospect, the company announced on April 7. The find is estimated at between 26mn and 97mn bar- rels of oil equivalent (boe) in initial recoverable reserves, the producer said.
The Scarabeo-8 rig was used to drill a 4,566- metre well in waters 313 metres deep at the Wintershall-operated production licence (PL) 836 S. The borehole encountered an oil column of at least 60 metres in the Garn formation and an oil column of at least 120 metres in the Tilje formation. Reservoir qualities range from poor to good.
Wintershall and its licence partners, Anglo-German firm Spirit Energy and Nor- way’s DNO, will now undertake studies to weigh up potential development options for the find. According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directo- rate (NPD), the developers are considering tying the discovery up to existing facilities in the area.
“This exciting discovery near existing infrastructure confirms the untapped poten- tial of Norway as a core area for exploration,
development and production now and in the future,” Wintershall’s chief technology officer, Hugo Dijkgraaf, commented.
Wintershall already produces oil from the nearby Maria and Dvalin fields. Maria is situated only 8 km east of Bergknapp.
The Bergknapp well will be temporarily plugged and abandoned, while Wintershall con- siders a future production test. The German firm has a 40% stake in the prospect, while Spirit and DNO each have 30% interests. ™
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Week 14 09•April•2020