Page 5 - EurOil Week 22

EurOil COMMENTARY EurOil

UK sees slump in exploration

drilling: Westwood

Norway’s tax regime is more supportive of exploration drilling in hard times

NORWAY NO exploration and appraisal (E&A) drilling has
taken place on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS)
in two months, Aberdeen-based Westwood
Global Energy reports, highlighting the impact
that recent spending cuts have had on activity.
Following the oil price crash in March, large
numbers of E&A wells were deferred until
2021 or cancelled altogether. The last well to be
drilled off the UK was Total’s 30/12d-11 Isabella
well, completed on April 7. Earlier it made a
high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) gas
condensate and light oil discovery in Upper
Jurassic and Triassic layers near the Elgin-Frank-
lin field in the central North Sea. In the Norwegian North Sea, Equinor has
The next exploration well to be drilled in this been drilling the 30/2-5 S Atlantis exploration
region will be Equinor’s 16/2a Tiger Lily well, well since May 13, using the West Hercules
which will target an Upper Jurassic prospect semi-submersible. The well aims to find gas con-
on the margins of the East Shetland platform. densate in a HPHT Middle Jurassic Brent Group
The rig, West Hercules, is currently working off reservoir. Operations are due to run on for up to
Norway. 78 days.
In the northern North Sea, Apache com- Equinor spudded the 34/7-1-10 AH produc-
pleted the 9/18e-42 Solar exploration well in tion well in mid-May from the Tordis-I template,
late February, resulting in an oil find in Eocene using the Deepsea Atlantic semi-submersible.
sands. The US player is due to sink another probe An exploration sidetrack is due to be drilled at
nearby at the 9/18a Gair prospect. Resources that the site, targeting a Lower-to-Upper Triassic
are found could be developed via a tieback to Statfjord reservoir.
Apache’s Beryl field. The company also completed the 35/10-6
Meanwhile, the last southern North Sea well Gabriel pilot hole in mid-May, and before that
was completed back in mid-December by Eni. the 30/6-31 S Helleneset well in April, but both
The 53/14a-2 Aspen well was abandoned as a dry came up dry.
hole and no further drilling is scheduled in the In the Norwegian Sea, there have been no
area. E&A wells since Neptune’s Grind probe was
West of the Shetland islands, the last well completed on April 25. OMV had secured a per-
to be finished was Hurricane’s Warwick West mit to spud the Hades appraisal well in May, but
204/30b-4 appraisal borehole, also in mid-De- the project has been postponed until later this
cember. No further drilling is anticipated in the year.
region this year. In the Barents Sea, there has been no drilling
since Equinor completed its Sputnik exploration
Norway well in August 2019, which made only a minor
The picture is brighter off Norway, where the oil discovery.
tax regime is highly supportive of exploration Since December, permits have been issued
activity. This regime allows companies to deduce for four Barents Sea wells but they have all
nearly 80% of their exploration costs from tax- been delayed because of lack of rig availability
able income, helping to encourage continued and operational issues owing to the coronavi-
drilling. rus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Leiv Eiriks-
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate son is currently en route to drill the 7321/8-2 S
(NPD) reported in early April that the count for Sandia well in the region, targeting a potential
exploration wells had fallen as a result of the col- play-opening prospect in Mid-Jurassic to Trias-
lapse, but only from 50 to 40. sic rock. ™

Week 22 04•June•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P5