Aker BP, operator of production licence 1008, has concluded the drilling of wildcat well 6506/5-1 S. The well was drilled about 50 kilometres southwest of the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea and 210 kilometres west of Brønnøysund. 

The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks (the Lysing Formation).

Well 6506/5-1 S encountered a total gas column of about 15 metres in the Lysing Formation, of which 10 metres of sandstones of very good reservoir quality. Deeper in the Lysing Formation, about 25 metres of net water-bearing reservoir rocks were encountered, mainly of moderate reservoir quality.

Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 1.0 and 2.4 billion standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable gas. The licensees will evaluate the discovery together with nearby prospects with regard to further follow-up.

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

This is the first exploration well in production licence 1008. The licence was awarded in APA 2018.

Well 6506/5-1 S was drilled to a measured depth of 3225 metres and a vertical depth of 3166 metres below sea level, and it was terminated in the Lange Formation in the Lower Cretaceous.

Water depth at the site is 409 metres. The well has been temporarily plugged and abandoned.

Well 6506/5-1 S was drilled by the Deepsea Nordkapp drilling facility, which will now drill observation well 25/4-K-7 H on the Alvheim field in the central part of the North Sea, where Aker BP is operator.

Link to Aker BP Norway country profile