Statoil has encountered a gas column of about 20 meters while drilling wildcat well 30/9-28 S, west of the Oseberg South Field in the central part of the North Sea, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said in a news release said.

The discovery is believed to hold between an estimated 1 and 2 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalents, the release said. The discovery will be considered for development as part of the Oseberg Future Phase 2 project.

The primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Lower and Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks.

Ten meters of the gas column encountered were in sandstone with good reservoir quality in the Tarbert formation, the release said. The gas/water contact in the Tarbert formation has been estimated at 2,870 meters based on pressure data. In the Statfjord group, the well encountered a 12-meter gas column in sandstone with moderate reservoir quality. The gas/water contact was proven at 3,506 m. The secondary exploration target in the lower part of the Statfjord group is aquiferous, the release said.

According to the NPD, the well was drilled to a measured and vertical depth of 4,083 and 3,928 meters below the sea surface, respectively, and was terminated in the Statfjord group in the Lower Jurassic. Water depth is 99 meters The well is now being permanently plugged and abandoned.

Well 30/9-28 S was drilled by the Songa Delta drilling facility, the release said.

Offshore