Austrian oil company OMV’s appraisal well on the Wisting discovery in the Barents Sea has encountered an oil column, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said today.
The Island Innovator rig drilled the well on Wisting, 315 kilometres north of Hammerfest, NPD said.
The well ran into an oil column of “about 55metres in sandstones” from the Middle Jurassic to Late Triassic.
The field was initially thought to hold 22-80 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalent.
An updated estimate will be provided once data from the appraisal well has been weighed up.
OMV operates and owns 25% of Wisting.
Project partners include Statoil, which holds a 35% stake, Idemitsu, which has 20% and Petoro, also on 20%.