Longboat Energy (LON: LBE) has announced that the Copernicus exploration well offshore Norway has been plugged and abandoned after coming up dry.
Located in licence PL1017, the exploration well 6608/1-1S, operated by PGNiG Upstream Norway, was targeting plio-pleistocene formations in the Voring Basin.
It was drilled to a total vertical depth of 2,400 metres below sea level by the Deepsea Yantai rig.
London-listed Longboat has a 10% stake in the prospect, which was thought to hold more than 70 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).
Background gas readings were recorded at Copernicus, but the well failed to encounter any effective reservoir.
Analysis of the data collected remains ongoing to understand the observed bright seismic amplitude anomaly and any remaining prospectivity in the area.
Longboat says the drilling operations were carried out well within the time schedule and below budget.
It is now two duds on the trot for Longboat after the Cambozola exploration, billed as potential “play opener”, was dry.
There were hopes it would be one of the largest gas prospects drilled in Norway this year, unlocking gross unrisked mean prospective resources of 159 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
Copernicus was the last in a seven-well exploration programme which Longboat farmed into last year.
It has made four discoveries, three of which – Egyptian Vulture, Rødhette and Kveikje – are commercial.
Helge Hammer, chief executive of Longboat, commented: “Naturally, we are disappointed that the Copernicus well was not a success but we look forward to continuing our fully-funded, gas-focused exploration programme with the results of the Oswig well expected shortly.”
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