Equinor completes drilling of wildcat southeast of Korpfjell discovery

STAVANGER -- Equinor Energy AS, operator of production license 859, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 7335/3-1.

The well has been drilled about 8 km southeast of the 7435/12-1 (Korpfjell) gas discovery in the Barents Sea, and about 435 km north of Vardø.

The primary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Early Triassic Age (upper and lower part of the Havert formation). The secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum and reservoir rocks in the Snadd and Kobbe formations from the Middle to Late Triassic Age.

In the primary exploration target in the Havert formation, as well as in the overlying Klappmyss formation (from the Early to Middle Triassic Age), the well encountered sandy, but mainly tight intervals.

Sandy zones were encountered in the secondary exploration target in the Kobbe formation over an interval of about 125 m, these were also mainly tight. In the Snadd formation, sandy intervals were encountered with poor reservoir quality. Some thin sandstone layers in the Triassic revealed traces of gas.

The Realgrunnen subgroup (from the Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic Age) was not an exploration target for the well, but around 170 m of sandstone reservoir of moderate to good quality were proven. The well is classified as dry.

Data has been collected and samples have been taken.

This is the second exploration well in production license 859. The licence was awarded in the 23rd licensing round in 2016.

Well 7335/3-1 was drilled to a vertical depth of 4,268 m below the sea surface, and it was terminated in the lower part of the Havert formation. Water depth at the site is 239 m. The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 7335/3-1 was drilled by the West Hercules drilling facility, which will now drill wildcat well 7324/6-1 in production license 855 in the Barents Sea, where Equinor Energy AS is the operator.