Aker BP Completes Appraisal Well in the Norwegian North Sea, Resources Increased to 15 Million Barrels

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 25, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate announced that Aker BP and its partners Equinor and DNO Norge completed the 16/1-EA-4 H appraisal well in the North Sea, further appraising the Verdandi and Lillefix oil and gas discoveries in production licence PL 167. Following completion of drilling, the preliminary resource estimate for the discoveries was upgraded from the pre-drill estimate of 4–12 million barrels of oil equivalent to 8–15 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Well 16/1-EA-4 H is located approximately 200 kilometres west of Stavanger and was drilled by the Deep Sea Nordkapp drilling rig from the subsea template at the Symra field as a horizontal appraisal well. The well was primarily intended to verify the Palaeocene Heimdal Formation reservoir, determine the extent of the reservoir and confirm the oil-water contact, and is the 11th exploration well completed in production licence PL 167.

Drilling encountered a 14-metre gas column and a 44-metre oil column in the Heimdal Formation sandstone, with the gas-oil contact at 1,776 metres below sea level. The horizontal section encountered a total of 1,515 metres of reservoir in the oil-bearing zone, and the regulator assessed the reservoir quality as moderate. Fluid sampling and pressure data acquisition were carried out during the operation; the well reached a vertical depth of 1,864 metres below sea level and has been permanently plugged and abandoned after completion of the operation.

Aker BP is further evaluating the economics of the resources together with Equinor and DNO Norge, and is studying a development concept involving a tie-back to the Symra field. Production licence PL 167 is currently operated by Aker BP with a 50% interest, while Equinor holds 30% and DNO Norge holds 20%. The Symra field came on stream in April 2026, and the appraisal targets are located in its vicinity, allowing the existing subsea and production facilities to be used in studies of subsequent development concepts.