Oljedirektoratet

Oil and gas discovery near the Balder field in the North Sea - 25/8-20 S, 25/8-20 B and 25/8-20 C

21/06/2021 Vår Energi AS, operator of production licence 027, has concluded the drilling of wildcat wells 25/8-20 S and 25/8-20 B and appraisal well 25/8-20 C.

The wells were drilled about 6 kilometres north of the Balder field in the central North Sea, 165 kilometres west of Haugesund.

The primary exploration target for wildcat well 25/8-20 S was to prove petroleum in the Eiriksson Formation from the Early Jurassic Age and the Skagerrak Formation from the Late Triassic Age.

The secondary target for the well was to prove petroleum in the Hermod Formation from the Paleogene Age.

The primary exploration target for wildcat well 25/8-20 B was to prove petroleum in injectite sands from the Paleogene Age (the Horda, Balder and Sele Formation) and to prove petroleum in the Skagerrak Formation in a nearby fault segment to well 25/8-20 S.

The primary exploration target for appraisal well 25/8-20 C was to prove petroleum and study the spread of the reservoir to injectite sands from the Paleogene Age.

Well 25/8-20 S encountered an oil column of about 30 metres in the Skagerrak Formation, of which 10 metres of sandstone with moderate to good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was not proven.

The well encountered a total of about 45 metres of water-bearing sandstone with very good to extremely good reservoir quality in the Eiriksson Formation.

In the Hermod Formation, the well encountered 50 metres of water-bearing sandstone with extremely good reservoir quality.

Well 25/8-20 B encountered a gas column of about 30 metres and an oil column of 55 metres in Eocene injectite sands, of which 10 metres was sandstone of extremely good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was encountered about 1780 metres below sea level.

The well also encountered oil in sandstone intervals of poor to moderate quality in the upper part of the Skagerrak Formation, which has a gross thickness of 95 metres. The oil/water contact was not proven. Pressure data in the water zone indicates communication in the Skagerrak Formation with 25/8-20 S.

Well 25/8-20 C encountered a gas column of about 40 metres and an oil column of about 55 metres in Eocene injectite sands, where about 35 metres was massive sandstone with extremely good reservoir quality. The gas/oil and oil/water contacts were encountered at the same depth as in 25/8-20 B.

Preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery are between 9 and 21 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent. The licensees have assessed the discoveries as commercial and will consider tie-in to existing infrastructure in the Balder area.

The wells were not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been performed.

These are the tenth, eleventh and twelfth exploration wells in production licence 027. The production licence was awarded in the 2nd licensing round in 1969.

Well 25/8-20 S was drilled to respective vertical and measured depths of 2374 and 2699 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Skagerrak Formation.

Well 25/8-20 B was drilled to respective vertical and measured depths of 2353 and 2664 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Skagerrak Formation.

Well 25/8-20 C was drilled to respective vertical and measured depths of 1880 and 2026 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Sele Formation from the Paleocene Age.

Water depth at the site is 128 metres. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned.

The wells were drilled by the Scarabeo 8 drilling facility, which will visit the shipyard in Ølen before it drills development well 7122/7-D-2 H in production licence 229 in the Barents Sea, where Vår Energi AS is the operator.

 

Map of well 25_8_20_S_B_C

 

Contact

Ola Anders Skauby

Director Communication, public affairs and emergency response

Tel: +47 905 98 519

Updated: 21/06/2021

Latest news

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate and the Petroleum Safety Authority are changing their names
22/09/2023 Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre emphasises that both agencies are crucial in the effort to further evolve the Norwegian shelf, both within oil and gas as well as new industries.
Dry well near the Munin field in the North Sea
22/09/2023 Equinor Energy is concluding the drilling of exploration well 30/11-15 in the North Sea. The well is dry.
Drilling permit for well 6406/3-12 S
22/09/2023 The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Wintershall Dea Norge AS drilling permit for well 6406/3-12 S in production licence 836 S, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations.
Postponed: Seminar on safe CO2 storage
21/09/2023 The Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) and Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA) are postponing the planned seminar on safe CO2 storage due to ongoing work on updating the CO2 Storage Regulations.
Production figures August 2023
21/09/2023 Preliminary production figures for August 2023 show an average daily production of 2 006 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate.
New edition of the continental shelf map
12/09/2023 You can now download or order the new edition of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s shelf map.
Harald Brekke to receive knighthood
07/09/2023 Senior geologist Harald Brekke has been nominated as Knight 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav.
Coexistence – challenging, but possible
30/08/2023 The general message at this year's NPD conference was that there is plenty of room to create values from multiple industries on the Norwegian shelf.
APA 2023: Still significant interest for exploration in mature areas
29/08/2023 The authorities have received applications from 25 companies in the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2023.
Drilling permit for well 35/6-4 S
25/08/2023 The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Neptune Energy Norge AS drilling permit for well 35/6-4 S in production licence 929, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations.