Westwood Global Energy reports that as of June 28 there were two appraisal wells active in the UK. Completions to date in 2021 are one appraisal well at 22/26d-3 Glengorm South and two exploration wells at 22/6c-B4Z Bacchus South and 16/2a-6 Tiger Lily.
West of Shetland
The last well to complete in the region was Hurricane’s Warwick West 204/30b-4 appraisal well on December 13 2019. No E&A wells were drilled in 2020 and there is currently no E&A drilling expected in 2021.
Northern North Sea
With the completion of Apache’s 9/19b-28 and 9/19b-29 Gamma/Losgann exploration well programme on December 25 2020, there is no current E&A drilling in the Northern North Sea. The next exploration well in the region is expected to be on TotalEnergies’ Alwyn East prospect.
Central North Sea
On July 20, Harbour Energy spudded the 30/13e-12 Talbot appraisal well with the Valaris 121 jack-up rig. The well is targeting the Paleocene with the aim of refining current resources of c. 20 mmboe and address uncertainty around the depth. The well has an estimated duration of 90 days in a success case and upon completion the rig will move to drill the operator’s 30/8-4 Dunnottar exploration well, targeting prospectivity in the Triassic. The J-Block hub provides the most likely tie-back candidate in the event of success with the wells.
Operator Equinor and partner BP’s 16/2a-6 Tiger Lily exploration well completed on July 5 after just 18 days. A result has not been announced, however the shorter than expected duration suggests it was not successful. The well was a firm commitment on 29th round acreage and was drilled on the margins of the East Shetland Platform targeting a combination trap with stratigraphic pinch-out in the Upper Jurassic Fulmar Formation, with secondary potential in the Permian Rotliegend.
Operations remain ongoing at CNOOC’s second Glengorm appraisal well 22/21c-14, which was spudded on May 21 with the Prospector 5 jack-up. The well is aiming to refine resource volumes following the Glengorm South well which was completed as a dry hole on May 16 and resulted in resources being downgraded. The Glengorm Central well is being drilled 1.9 km to the southwest of the 2019 discovery well and arguably has a greater chance of encountering hydrocarbons than at Glengorm South, which was drilled 5 km from the discovery well.
Southern North Sea
The last well to complete in the region was Eni’s 53/14a-2 Aspen well on December 11 2019, which was abandoned as a dry hole. The next exploration well that is expected to be drilled in the region is Shell and Deltic’s 41/5a-B Pensacola exploration well, which is expected to be drilled in 2022.
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