Page 17 - EurOil Week 46

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil

ConocoPhillips makes “substantial”

Norwegian find

NORWAY CONOCOPHILLIPS and its Polish partner for the strategic expansion of our gas production
PGNiG have made a “substantial” gas discovery operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf
The field is estimated in the Norwegian Sea, with an estimated size [NCS].”
to be up to 189mn of between 8mn and 30mn cubic metres (50- “We seek to ensure that the largest possi-
barrels of recoverable 189mn barrels) of recoverable oil equivalent. ble volumes of our own gas are brought from
oil equivalent in size. In a statement, Conoco said it had found gas Norway to Poland via the Baltic Pipe,” he said.
and condensate at production licence (PL) 1009, “The new gas discovery takes us a step closer to
after drilling a wildcat well some 35 km from achieving that goal.”
the Equinor-operated Heidrun oil and gas field, Baltic Pipe is due to come on stream in Octo-
where Conoco has a 24% position. The discovery ber 2020 and will pump some 10bn cubic metres
is also 27 km south-west of the Aker BP-operated per year of Norwegian gas to Poland, helping the
Skarv field, in which PGNiG has a 11.9% stake. country wean itself off Russian gas after its long-
Conoco is the only US major left in Norway term contract with Gazprom expires at the end
following the departure of Chevron in 2018 and of 2022.
ExxonMobil the following year. Its main focus is PGNiG is aggressively expanding gas
the Greater Ekofisk Area in the southern North resources off Norway to fill the pipe, most
Sea, consisting of the Ekofisk, Eldfisk and Embla recently snapping up stakes in the Kvitebjorn
fields. and Valemon fields from Royal Dutch Shell. It
“We have built a strong position on the Nor- has also enjoyed exploration successes, making
wegian shelf since the discovery of the Ekofisk the Shrek gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea in
field in 1969 and we are a very active industry October last year.
operator and partner across the North Sea and The Warka well, the very first at PL1009,
Norwegian Sea,” Conoco’s chief operating officer was completed by the Leiv Eiriksson rig, which
Matt Fox said in a statement. is now on route to drill another wildcat at the
The discovery, named Warka, was made by Conoco-operated PL891.
a wildcat drilled in waters 400 metres deep to PGNiG, alongside operator Aker BP, made
subsea depth of 4,985 metres. According to the another Norwegian discovery this week some 7
Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), the km north-west of the Alve Nord field, also oper-
well found a 27-metre gas column in sandstone ated by Aker BP. This oil and gas find was another
layers in the Lange formation, with moderate but minor result, though, with only 1.5mn to 3.7mn
uncertain reservoir quality. cubic metres (9.4-23.3mn boe) of recoverable
Conoco has a 65%interest in PL1009, while resources. Aker BP has an 88.1% interest in the
PGNiG has 35%. The pair will “assess the results discovery, while PGNiG has 11.9%.
of the discovery together with other nearby pros- Equinor too made a small gas find this month
pects with a view to a potential development to in the Norwegian Sea, some 9 km east of the
existing infrastructure,” the NPD said. Maria field operated by Wintershall Dea. Pre-
PGNiG president Pawel Majewski also com- liminary estimates put its size at only between
mented, saying Warka was “extremely important 0.5 and 1.6 bcm. ™

Week 46 19•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17