StatoilHydro makes double discovery

StatoilHydro discovered hydrocarbons in two wells in the Oseberg area in the Norwegian offshore sector of the North Sea.

The first discovery was made in a long-reach exploration well from the Oseberg C platform, targeting the Cook Formation in the Theta structure. Oseberg Petech Project Leader Trond Eide said, "The well is designed to be converted to a producer within 45 days after the discovery, giving an extremely quick turnover from prospective resources to producible reserves." Prospect mapping and well planning was a collaborative effort between the Oseberg Petech team and the North Sea infrastructure-led exploration team, with the former unit being responsible for the drilling operation. Bjorn Inge Braathen, leader of the exploration team working in the Oseberg area, said, "Work is currently underway to determine the optimal production solution." Depending on the development solution, preliminary expected volumes are around 5 million barrels of oil. Shortly after the Theta discovery, oil and gas was also found in the Delta S2 structure in the Oseberg South area. The discovery was made with well 30/9-21S, which targeted the Brent Group. Drilled by semisubmersible Transocean Winner, the discovery is believed to contain about 16 million recoverable BOE. The rig is now drilling a second branch to test the nearby Richards prospect. The Delta S2 discovery may be tied to the nearby Delta template within a few years and continued exploration success in the area may trigger new development solutions.

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