A fresh discovery by Statoil close to an existing find in frontier waters off the coast of eastern Canada has raised the prospect of a new harsh environment floating production hub.
The Norwegian operator hit light, high-quality oil on its Harpoon prospect in the Flemish Pass Basin, just 10 km southeast of its 100-200 MMbbl Mizzen oil discovery. The lat- est well was drilled in Exploration Licence 1112 using the West Aquarius ultra-deepwater semisub rig in approximately 1,100 m (3,608 ft) of water.
DI understands that scoping stud- ies are already underway internally at Statoil, with various potential semisubmersible and FPSO floater solutions on the drawing board as likely development solutions for the deep waters and harsh sea states encountered in the Flemish Pass area.
In order for a standalone development to proceed, DI hears that Statoil wants to firm up recoverable reserves of at least 250-300 MMbbl in order to achieve the desired economic threshold.
Although it is too early to estimate Harpoon’s resource potential, says the operator, the results are “very encouraging” for the area, especially the nearby Bay du Nord well the company plans to drill later this year, according to Erik Finnstrom, senior vice president for Exploration North America at Statoil. Bay du Nord is just southwest of the Harpoon and Mizzen finds, and is understood to be the largest geological structure in the area.
“We anticipate there will be further appraisal drilling to mature this discovery in the future,” Finnstrom noted regarding Harpoon, adding that Statoil will continue to strategically build the Flemish Pass Basin area and test high-impact oil prospects as one of the company’s core exploration regions.
Statoil operates Harpoon with a 65% interest, with its partner being Husky Energy. Harpoon is located approximately 500 km northeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Norwegian operator is now drilling the Federation prospect in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin offshore eastern Canada as part of a three-well exploration program offshore Newfoundland this year.
Bay du Nord is one of several Statoil wells to watch in 2013, and if successful could also potentially be co-developed with the Mizzen and Harpoon discoveries.
Recommended Reading
The Need for Speed in Oil, Gas Operations
2024-03-22 - NobleAI uses “science-based AI” to improve operator decision making and speed up oil and gas developments.
US Drillers Add Oil, Gas Rigs for Third Time in Four Weeks
2024-02-09 - Despite this week's rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 138 rigs, or 18%, below this time last year.
NAPE: Turning Orphan Wells From a Hot Mess Into a Hot Opportunity
2024-02-09 - Certain orphaned wells across the U.S. could be plugged to earn carbon credits.
Sangomar FPSO Arrives Offshore Senegal
2024-02-13 - Woodside’s Sangomar Field on track to start production in mid-2024.
NAPE: Chevron’s Chris Powers Talks Traditional Oil, Gas Role in CCUS
2024-02-12 - Policy, innovation and partnership are among the areas needed to help grow the emerging CCUS sector, a Chevron executive said.