StatoilHydro makes additional Gas Discovery in Norwegian Sea

StatoilHydro has made a small additional gas discovery during drilling of an exploration well northwest of Sandnessjøen in mid-Norway.

As operator of production license 218, StatoilHydro is currently concluding the drilling of exploration well 6707/10-2 A. The well has been drilled southeast of the Luva gas discovery, 280 kilometers northwest of Sandnessjøen. The purpose of the well was to confirm petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rock. The well was a planned sidetrack to a deeper prospect following the confirmation of 8–14 billion cubic meters (Sm3) of gas during drilling of well 6707/10-2 S in October 2008 in a prospect called Haklang. The well confirmed a 38 meter gas column in the lower part of the Nise formation. The confirmed resources are small, and it is too early to say whether the discovery is commercially viable when seen in connection with a possible field development of Haklang and the nearby Luva and Snefrid South finds. "This year we have drilled three exploration wells in the vicinity of Luva and gas has been found in all wells," says Frode Fasteland, who is StatoilHydro's head of exploration in the Norwegian Sea. "This well confirmed a new exploration model, and even if the find is small it offers exciting opportunities for further exploration in this part of the Norwegian Sea," says Mr Fasteland. This is the fourth exploration well in production license 218, which was awarded in the 15th licensing round in 1996.
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