Ocean Vanguard News

Operator Statoil has together with PL272 partners made a gas discovery in the Askja West prospect and an oil discovery in the Askja East prospect in the North Sea. The exploration wells  30/11-9 S and 30/11-9 A, drilled by the drilling rig Ocean Vanguard, are located between the Oseberg and Frigg fields and about 13 km southeast of the Statoil-operated Krafla/Krafla West discoveries. Main wellbore 30/11-9 S tested the Askja West prospect and proved a net gas column of 90 metres in Late and Middle Jurassic rocks.

Oil has been proven by Statoil and its partners Det norske oljeselskap ASA and Svenska Petroleum Exploration AS on the North Sea Krafla prospect. The well is located in block 30/11 around 26 kilometres south of the Oseberg South field. Based on preliminary calculations the size of the discovery is between 12.5 and 56.5 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. ”Statoil has had great exploration success in mature areas during the last years,” says Gro Gunleiksrud Haatvedt, Statoil’s head of exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Oil has been discovered by StatoilHydro in the Frigg Delta prospect in the North Sea, with proven recoverable volumes put at 18-35 million barrels. This find is located about 21 kilometres east of the abandoned Frigg field and 12 kilometres north of Frøy. "It’s commercially interesting, and we’ve already started looking at prospects for a development linked to nearby oil resources," said Tom Dreyer, head of infrastructure-led exploration in the North Sea. The discovery well encountered oil in sandstone of good reservoir quality belonging to the Frigg formation. "Our starting point has been an old unclarified find in this formation," said Dreyer.

Gas has been proven by StatoilHydro in exploration well 6507/3-7 Idun North in the Norwegian Sea. Currently being completed, the well is located two kilometres northwest of the Idun find and 12 kilometres north of the Skarv find. The purpose of the well was to prove petroleum in the “Fangst” and “Båt” groups in middle and lower Jurassic rocks. The well proved gas in the “Fangst” group. The underlying “Båt” group was filled with water. “Based on preliminary calculations, the size of the find is estimated at between 0.6 and 3 billion standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable gas,” said Knut Harald Nygård, who is heading StatoilHydro’s exploration activities near existing fields in shallow waters in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea.

An oil discovery just north of the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea will be considered for development with the Norne production and storage ship. A well on the North Sea Verona prospect is dry. Drilling of an exploration well on the Dompap prospect off the coast of Nordland county has been completed after proving oil. A sidetrack drilled to establish the oil/water contact in this discovery is also in the process of completion. The Dompap strike represents StatoilHydro’s first oil find in 2009, and the preliminary estimate for recoverable reserves is 25-50 million barrels.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. reported that its subsidiary, Diamond Offshore Drilling Limited, completed the previously announced acquisition of the third-generation semisubmersible drilling rig West Vanguard. The rig, purchased for $68.5 million, has been renamed Ocean Vanguard. In accordance with the sales agreement, the rig has been bareboat chartered to the seller for the completion of ongoing work in Norway. Diamond Offshore is a leader in deep water drilling. The Company's fleet of 46 offshore drilling rigs currently consists of 31 semisubmersibles, 14 jack-ups and one drillship. The fleet operates in the waters of six of the world's seven continents.