The series of exploration successes for RWE Dea in Norway continues. Having already made a major gas discovery in the Zidane licence area in mid-September, the semi-submersible drilling rig Bredford Dolphin just made another discovery in the Titan prospect (PL 420) – with a promising oil discovery.

RWE Dea Norge AS, operator of production licence 420, is in the process of completing the drilling of wildcat well 35/9-6 S. The well was drilled approximately 16 km west of the Gjøa Field in the North Sea. Petroleum was proven (mainly oil) in a 435-metre column in the Heather Formation, the Brent Group, the Drake Formation and the Cook Formation. The reservoir levels in the well are in different pressure regimes, and no hydrocarbon-water contact was encountered.

“It’s been an exciting year. We’ve drilled two of our operated licences this year, and we’ve made two discoveries. We’re very pleased about making another discovery that looks promising, but it’s too soon to draw any firm conclusions until an appraisal well has been drilled”, says Hugo Sandal, Managing Director of RWE Dea Norge. “We also believe there is further exploration potential in the licence”, he continues. Preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery indicate between 2 and 10 million Sm3 of recoverable oil equivalents. Small scale formation tests (mini-DST) were carried out, showing a variation in reservoir quality.
The well is the first exploration well in production licence 420, which was awarded on February 16th, 2007 (APA 2006). The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,664 meters and was terminated in Upper Triassic rocks. The water depth at the site is 370 meters. The well will be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 35/9-6 S was drilled by the Bredford Dolphin drilling facility, which will now proceed to Coast Centre Base (CCB Ågotnes) for a stay at the yard.

“With this oil find in the Titan prospect, RWE Dea Norge as the operator once again demonstrates the technical expertise of its interdisciplinary team, as well as underscoring the great potential for hydrocarbons in the Norwegian North Sea. RWE Dea Norge will be working closely with its partners and with the public authorities in an effort to continue this success story” explained Ralf to Baben, Chief Operating Officer of RWE Dea AG.