Aker BP ASA, operator of production licence 212, has concluded the drilling of a combined exploration and appraisal well, 6507/5-8, near and on Ærfugl. 

The well was drilled about one kilometre from the Skarv field in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea.

Ærfugl was proven in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks (the Lysing formation) in 2000. The plan for development and operation was approved by the authorities on 6 April 2018.  Ærfugl will be tied in to the Skarv FPSO.

The primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks in the Lower Cretaceous (the Lange formation) as well as to investigate the type of petroleum, reservoir pressure and possible communication with the Skarv field. The secondary exploration target was to delineate Ærfugl and collect data in the reservoir rocks on the field in the Upper Cretaceous (the Lysing formation).

The well encountered the primary exploration target with a total of about 45 metres of acquiferous sandstone layers with poor to moderate reservoir properties. The sandstone layers contain traces of hydrocarbons.

In the secondary exploration target, an approximate 25-metre gas column was encountered, of which 13 metres make up the reservoir, which consists of sandstone layers with good to very good reservoir quality.  

The preliminary estimate of the size of Ærfugl is now between 27.6 and 46.8 billion Sm3 of recoverable gas and between 4.93 og 7.7 million Sm3 recoverable condensate.

The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out.

This is the eighth exploration well in production licence 212. The licence was awarded in the 15th licensing round in 1996.

Well 6507/5-8 was drilled to a vertical depth of 3660 metres below the sea surface and was terminated in the Lange formation in the Lower Cretaceous.

Water depth is 408 metres. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 6507/5-8 was drilled by the Deepsea Stavanger drilling facility, which will now perform well workovers on the Skarv field, where Aker BP ASA is the operator.