Vår Energi has announced it has made a “significant” oil and gas discovery in the Southern North Sea.
The Norwegian driller spudded the King and Prince exploration wells in the Balder area earlier this year.
The process “proved successful”, with preliminary estimates showing volumes between 60 to 135 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents.
Vår Energi said the discoveries prover the “still opportunities in the mature areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf”.
Torger Rød, the firm’s CEO, added: “I’m proud to represent yet another discovery that will generate activity and create value – for the company, the owners, the supplier industry and the society at large.
“Clearly, our near-field exploration strategy is paying off and is certainly an approach we will continue to pursue.”
King and Prince are Vår Energi’s fifth significant exploration discovery so far this year.
Denis Palermo, VP exploration, said: “This is fantastic news. We know that there is significant remaining exploration potential in the Balder licenses and I’m proud and glad to see that all the hard work put down by the team has paid off.”
He added: “We have years of experience and huge amounts of data from the Balder area. Thanks to a systematic exploration strategy, our deep understanding of the area, thorough geological processes, and new technology we are able to unlock the true Balder potential.”
Short time to market
The licensees – Vår Energi AS 90% and Mime Petroleum AS 10% – consider the discoveries to be commercial and will look at a tie-in to existing infrastructure in the Balder area.
A King and Prince development project has already started in order to reduce time from discovery to production as much as possible.
Bjørn Thore Ribesen, VP field development and projects, said: “The discoveries fit in well with our area plans and continuous development of the Balder Area as an important production hub for Vår Energi.
“We are in the process of revitalizing the area and these discoveries will increase future value creation.”
The exploration wells are located approximately six kilometers north of the Balder field and three kilometers west of the Ringhorne platform.
King/Prince was drilled in PL 027 by Scarabeo 8.
The Prince well encountered an oil column of about 35 meters in the Triassic Skagerrak formation, within “good to moderate” reservoir sandstones, about 2,374 meters below sea level.
Meanwhile, the King well discovered a gas column of about 30m and a light oil column of about 55 meters with some thick Paleogene injectite sandstone with “excellent reservoir properties”.
An additional King appraisal sidetrack further confirmed a 40m gas column and an oil column of about 55 meters.
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