GERMAN energy group RWE Dea has made a significant gas find on the Titan prospect, near the Heidrun and Skarv fields in the Norwegian Sea.
The company, which operates block 6507/07, said that the primary objective for the well was to prove hydrocarbons in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Fangst group), while the second was to prove hydrocarbons in Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Tilje formation).
The Titan-1 well, drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig Bredford Dolphin, encountered gas in a 150m (492ft) column in the Fangst group. Preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery range from 176.6-635.7billion cu ft of recoverable gas.
The possibility of finding more hydrocarbons in the licence is considered good.
The company said comprehensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out, and a successful drill-stem test performed.
It produced 42.38million cu ft per day of natural gas on a 36/64-inch choke.
Titan-1 is the first exploration well drilled in this part of the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It was drilled to a total vertical depth of 4,477m (14,689ft) below the sea surface, and was terminated in the Tilje formation in the Lower Jurassic.
“This excellent new discovery increases our hydrocarbon resources and shows further growth potential on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” said Ralf to Baben, CEO of RWE Dea.
Partners in the licence will consider producing the discovery by making use of existing infrastructure, as well 6507/07-14S is located only 15km (nine miles) north-west of the Heidrun Field, and 35km (21 miles) south of the Skarv field.
RWE Dea Norge has a 40% interest in the Titan discovery well. Partners are Edison International (20%), Maersk (20%) and Norwegian Energy Company (20%).