Wellesley’s successful exploration drilling has yielded a material, high quality development portfolio with favourable ESG characteristics. Wellesley’s developments are split between our two exploration themes of “Gas to Europe” and “Power From Shore Oil”.
First production from Wellesley’s portfolio is expected from the Ørn field in 2026. Cashflow from Ørn will then be recycled into the Atlantis and FANTA developments, which will help the portfolio achieve peak production around 65 kboe/d in 2030.
Wellesley’s developments are operated by Equinor or AkerBP – two of the most experienced development operators in Norway. There remains significant near-field exploration upside associated with these developments, which will be tested through the drill-bit in the coming years.
Thanks to its ability to displace coal and balance intermittent renewable power generation, gas is a key fuel in the energy transition. Norway produces some of the lowest CO2 gas in the world, making it an increasingly desired product across European markets.
Currently, our portfolio reflects three gas discoveries with strong commercial potential: Ørn, Atlantis and Osprey.
Ørn is an HPHT gas field, discovered in 2019 that will be developed as a tieback to Skarv. The Ørn field is a robust fault-bounded structure that is filled to spill. The 6507/2-5 S well discovered a gas-down-to in excellent quality Garn reservoir, with permeabilities up to 1D.
Atlantis is an HPHT gas/condensate field, discovered in 2020 that will be developed as a tieback to Kvitebjørn. The 30/2-5 S well discovered good quality Brent reservoir in a simple fault-bounded structure, filled with rich, high liquids content gas.
The Osprey discovery lies in the Norwegian Sea, 7km southwest of the Alve Nord field. Osprey comprises a small Cretaceous gas accumulation that can be drained with a single well. Operatorship of the PL159F licence was taken over by PGNiG in 2022. The licence partners will now work to develop Osprey as a tieback to Skarv, potentially in conjunction with the Alve Nord development.
Wellesley has a core licence position around the Fram and Troll area, where it has made four commercial oil discoveries in the last four years.
The Grosbeak, Swisher, Røver Nord and Toppand discoveries are all operated by Equinor and will be developed together as part of the “FANTA” (Fram And North Troll Area) area development project.
FANTA will tie back to the Equinor operated Troll B / C platforms, which will be electrified in time for first production from the project. Both platforms will be powered by hydroelectric power from shore and will have zero CO2 emissions associated with their oil production.
Together with Equinor, Wellesley continues to drill exploration prospects to prove more resources in the area. There is a lot more oil to be found here, and we expect FANTA to become one of the most exciting development projects in Norway in the coming years.
The FANTA project is expected to achieve PDO in 2024, with first production from all fields expected in 2028/29.
Wellesley took over operatorship of the Grosbeak discovery and drilled two successful appraisal wells in 2018, confirming significant volumes of oil and gas in Brent and Sognefjord reservoirs. The field is now fully appraised with 6 well penetrations and a large dataset including 2 DSTs, 677m of core, logs and PSDM seismic. The appraisal campaign found multi-Darcy reservoirs with good horizontal connectivity, 44° API oil and low CO2 gas.
A 4-way structure in the Brent reservoir fairway, Toppand was discovered in January 2022 by the 35/10-7 S and A wells, which found oil-filled, stacked reservoirs and an oil/water contact. The geometry of the structure, together with the sand-tank reservoir and high reservoir pressure will enable a very efficient recovery from the discovery.
Discovered in 2021 by the 31/1-2 S well and appraised by the 2 A sidetrack, Røver Nord is an oil discovery with a gas cap in a 4-way structural trap. The appraisal sidetrack identified an oil/water contact in Brent reservoirs, and the drilling campaign confirmed Wellesley’s reservoir model for the Brent in this area.
Swisher was discovered in 2020 by the 35/11-24 S well. Subsequently appraised by two sidetracks, the wells found oil and gas in good quality Upper Jurassic reservoirs in a stratigraphic pinchout trap. Swisher will be developed with two oil producers as part of the FANTA project. Gas cap expansion and natural aquifer drive are expected to provide pressure support and to achieve an efficient depletion of the reservoir.
