Shell (LON: SHEL) is preparing to drill the latest in a series of Bond-themed prospects with its Orlov exploration well next month, as it looks to reverse a series of North Sea disappointments.
The supermajor appears set to spud well 22/08a-E at the Orlov field on Licence P2377 in August.
A notice to mariners posted this week via the Kingfisher platform highlights that the Valaris 122 jack up will be at the field conducting drilling operations from 3 August as part of a single-well campaign.
According to reports following the Petex conference last year, the well is targeting a Fulmar reservoir with recoverable volumes of 5-15 million barrels of oil equivalent.
If successful, Shell representatives have previously said the field has the potential for a “rapid tieback” to the nearby Nelson infrastructure to the west of the field.
The Nelson platform comprises of a single, manned drilling and production platform which serves a series of subsea tie backs including the Nelson field itself, alongside Howe and Bardolino.
Oil is exported via the Forties pipeline system, while gas is sent to St Fergus via the Fulmar gas pipeline.
The total duration of drilling and completion activities at Orlov is expected to last approximately 108 days, according to the notice, with an end date of 19 November.
The rig is under contract to Shell until October, according to Valaris’ most recent fleet status report.
The well follows a series of disappointing results in the basin for Shell and others.
Earlier this month, it announced that it had failed to find commercial volumes at its hotly tipped Edinburgh exploration well, while the nearby Jaws prospect – drilled with 50% partner Capricorn Energy, and also a candidate for tieback to Nelson – found only water-bearing rocks.
Orlov also continues a run of Bond-themed exploration prospects across the North Sea.
The fictional Soviet general was one of the two main villains in the 1983 film Octopussy, and played by British actor Steven Berkoff.
Jaws, meanwhile, takes its name from Richard Kiel’s eponymous henchman who appeared in both The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.
Elsewhere, volumes may yet be held in the Oddjob and Scaramanga prospects, whilst Stavro was drilled around a decade ago.
