Statoil Makes Small Gas Find
Statoil has made a minor gas discovery 6km east of the small Alve gas-condensate field, Norway’s upstream regulator said March 10.
The company’s well 6507/3-12 encountered a total gas column of about 7 metres with good reservoir properties, said the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD); a subsequent appraisal well was stopped due to technical difficulties regarding presumed gas-filled sandstone.
“Preliminary estimations place the size of the discovery between 1bn and 5bn m3 of recoverable gas. Licensees will assess the discovery along with other nearby discoveries/prospects with regard to a possible development,” said NPD. These were the 3rd and 4th exploration wells on block PL159B.
Alve has produced since 2009; in 2015-16 it produced 0.44bn m3/yr plus some oil. Operator Statoil has a 85% interest, with Denmark's Dong 15%. Production from Alve is constrained by capacity at the Statoil-operated Norne field, 16km to the northeast of Alve, through which its oil and gas is routed.
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Mark Smedley