Aker BP: Assessing Potential Gas Tiebacks to Skarv Area Offshore Mid-Norway
Aker BP, a prominent player in the Norwegian offshore industry, has recently highlighted its efforts to explore and develop new gas reserves in the Skarv area, a region known for its extensive hydrocarbon resources in the Norwegian Sea. The company has successfully confirmed the presence of gas with an appraisal well located approximately 12 kilometers west of the Skarv field, carried out by the semi-submersible rig Deepsea Nordkapp.
The primary goal of this campaign was to confirm the size of the previous discoveries made in 2022 by the 6507/2-6 well, which targeted reservoirs in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks. The new appraisal well, 6507/2-7 S, drilled to a depth of 5,098 meters (16,725.7 feet) and 5,140 meters (16,863.5 feet) measured depth below sea level, has proven gas in the Tilje Formation, a Lower Jurassic formation that is 133 meters thick.
#### Key Findings
1. **Reservoir Provenances**:
– The well encountered gas in the Tilje Formation, which is 133 meters thick, with 43 meters in sandstone rocks of moderate to poor reservoir quality. No gas/water contact was observed in this formation.
– In the secondary exploration target, the well found a 30-meter gas column in the Garn Formation and an 8-meter gas column in the Lysing Formation, both with varying reservoir qualities.
2. **Production Test Results**:
– A production test on the upper part of the Tilje Formation yielded 300,000 cubic meters (10.6 million cubic feet) of gas per flow day through a 20/64-inch nozzle opening.
3. **Recoverable Reserves**:
– Preliminary estimates suggest that the primary exploration target holds recoverable reserves ranging from 13 million to 55 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), while the secondary target is estimated to hold between 8 million and 12 MMboe.
4. **Future Development Plans**:
– Aker BP and its partner in production license 261, Harbour Energy, are considering tying the new discoveries to existing infrastructure in the area, such as the Skarv Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO