Equinor Energy has made an oil discovery near the Munin field in the Norwegian North Sea through the drilling of exploration well 30/12-3 S.
However, initial assessments indicate that the discovery may not be economically viable given the present price assumptions.
The well 30/12-3 S has confirmed the presence of recoverable oil equivalent ranging between 0.15 and 0.55 million standard cubic meters (Sm3).
The drilling campaign also included a sidetrack dubbed 30/12-3 A, which turned out to be dry.
Situated approximately 40km south of Oseberg and 150km west of Bergen, the drilling operations for the two wells were carried out by Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Stavanger rig.
The primary objective of the exploration wells 30/12-3 S and 30/12-3 A was to substantiate the presence of petroleum in the Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks within the Tarbert Formation.
In the case of well 30/12-3 S, a 3.5m oil column was discovered in the Tarbert Formation, within a sandstone reservoir exhibiting moderate reservoir quality.
The Tarbert Formation, with a total thickness of approximately 195m, comprised 97m of sandstone rocks characterised by moderate to good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was identified at a depth of 3,110m below sea level.
The Ness Formation, with an overall thickness of around 163m, included a 19m section of sandstone reservoir with moderate reservoir quality.
Drilling of well 30/12-3 S reached measured and vertical depths of 3,696m and 3,464m below sea level, respectively, and was concluded in the Drake Formation.
Drilling operations for well 30/12-3 A reached measured and vertical depths of 4,550m and 3,718m below sea level, respectively, concluding in the Ness Formation. The water depth in the region is 106m.
Equinor conducted the drilling operations on behalf of Aker BP, the operator of production license 272 B.
The wildcat well 30/12-3 S, which has now been permanently plugged and abandoned, marks the first well to be drilled in the production license.
Aker BP and Equinor share equal ownership stakes of 50% in the production license, which was granted during APA 2018. The licence is part of the Munin field, discovered in 2011, and set to be developed having received approval for its plan for development and operation (PDO) in June 2023.
