The Norvarg gas find in the Norwegian Arctic may be smaller than first thought, a partner in the project has warned.
Total’s Barents Sea appraisal well, approximately 275km north of the Hammerfest plant at Melkøya, was found to have a maximum gross production rate of 175,000 cubic metres of gas a day.
Early expectations for the site, which was discovered in 2011, had been for around 180,000 cubic metres a day.
Now Total, along with partners North Energy, Ithaca, Statoil, Det Norske and Rocksource, are to examine the data ahead of making a production decision.
“The appraisal well encountered a thick gas interval in the Kobbe Formation with variable reservoir quality, more sand, and better porosities,” Det Norske said in a statement.
“However the reservoir productivity was somewhat lower than expected.
“First assessment of the appraisal well results indicates that the resource range may have to be reduced on Norvarg, as compared to the initial evaluation from the discovery well.”
The Norvarg field had been tipped to hold between 63 million and 315 million boe, with markets having anticipated a likely overall size of around 200 million boe.