Aker BP Makes Natural Gas Discovery in Hassel Near Prosperous Region Offshore Norway

(WO) – According to the Norwegian Directorate of Offshore Operations, Aker BP Gas has made a new discovery of natural gas in the wildcat well 7324/8-4 (Hassel) in the Barents Sea, approximately 300 km off the coast of Norway .

This is the second well drilled under Production License 1170, awarded under the 2021 APA. Gas was also recently proved in the first well under the production license, 7324/6-2. Both wells were drilled by the Beetle 8 platform.

Preliminary estimates indicate that the size of the natural gas discovery is between 3.23 and 4.42 Mboe.

Wells 7324/6-2 and 7324/8-4 were drilled in the Hoop fault complex, in close proximity to oil discoveries 7324/8-1 (Wisting) and 7324/7-2 (Hanssen). Several wells have been drilled previously on other production permits in the area, some of which have produced discoveries (7325/4-1 (Gemini North), 7324/9 (Mercury), 7324/6-1 (Sputnik), 7324/3-1 (Intrepid Eagle) and 7325/1-1 (Atlantis)).

Licensees in this area are Equinor, Aker BP, Petoro and Inpex Idemitsu.

Geological informationThe objective of the well was to prove the presence of oil in Middle Jurassic to Upper Triassic reservoir rocks in the Stø and Fruholmen formations.

Well 7324/8-4 encountered a 30 m reservoir zone in the Stø and Fruholmen formations, with a gas column of 11 m, of which a total of 8 m was in very good reservoir quality sandstone layers.

The gas/water contact was encountered at 686 m below sea level. The well was not formation tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling was performed.

Well 7324/8-4 was drilled to a vertical depth of 781 m below sea level and terminated in the Upper Triassic Snadd Formation.

The water depth at the site is 401 m. The Norwegian Directorate of Offshore Operations said the well would be permanently plugged and abandoned.