Testing the Tethys prospect in the North Sea, Spirit Energy has made a small oil discovery in exploration well 35/9-14 in the license PL 682 on the Norwegian Shelf.

The well is located on the Måløy Slope in the northern North Sea, 66 km west of Florø and 6 km northwest of the Gjøa Field. The aim of the wells was to prove petroleum in the Upper Jurassic reservoirs of Oxfordian age and to undertake a comprehensive sampling programme should a discovery be made.

The well encountered 20 meters of hydrocarbon bearing poor quality sandstone of Oxfordian age in the Heather Formation. A down-dip sidetrack found 30 meters of sandstone with hydrocarbon shows, but again the reservoir quality was poor and below expectations.

Extensive data acquisition and sampling has been carried out in both wells and work will now be carried out to evaluate the data acquired and integrate with the existing geological understanding to update the interpretation of the Tethys discovery and other prospects in the area.

Well 35/9-14 is classified as a technical oil discovery. Well 35/9-14 A is dry with shows. The wells were drilled with the semi-submersible drilling rig Songa Enabler, and are the first wells in the PL 682 licence.

Arne Westeng, director of Spirit Energy said: “Although the overall result of wells 35/9-14 and 35/9-14 A is disappointing, the wells confirm that the stratigraphic trapping mechanism for the prospect works. This is encouraging for further exploration of the upper Jurassic in this part of the North Sea. The data acquired will be valuable to further develop our understanding of reservoir quality distribution which is critical for maturation of the remaining upper Jurassic prospectivity in the area.”

This is the first of eight exploration wells Spirit Energy Norge will participate in in 2018, four of these as operator. Spirit Energy is the operator of PL 682 with a 30% working interest. The partners are Capricorn Norge AS with 30%, Wellesley Petroleum AS with 20 % and Petoro with 20%.

About Spirit Energy

Spirit Energy was created in 2017 following the combination of Centrica’s Exploration & Production business and Bayerngas Norge AS. The business is 69%-owned by Centrica plc, with the remaining 31% owned by Bayerngas Norge’s former shareholders, led by Stadtwerke München and Bayerngas GmbH.

The independent company was formed to combine a complementary mix of producing and development assets, and creates a robust, self-financing business to allow both organic and inorganic growth.