Wellesley Petroleum AS announces light oil discovery in the Norwegian North Sea
Stavanger, 7th January 2022
Wellesley Petroleum AS (“Wellesley”) notes the NPD announcement of the drilling results of exploration well 35/10-7 S and sidetrack well 35/10-7 A, operated by Equinor Energy AS. Drilling took place in licence PL630 (Wellesley 50% working interest). The wells were targeting the Toppand Prospect and resulted in a commercial oil discovery.
Well 35/10-7 S encountered a light oil column of 73 m in the Middle Jurassic Ness and Etive formations with good to very good reservoir quality. The underlying Oseberg Formation was water bearing. Well 35/10-7 A was drilled as an up-dip appraisal with the objective to target oil in the Oseberg Formation and this well encountered a 59 m thick oil bearing interval in lower Ness and Etive formations. The Oseberg Formation was found to be around 68 m thick and was predominantly oil bearing with an oil water contact established at 3290 m.
The operator’s preliminary estimate of gross oil-in-place volume in the Toppand Discovery is 51 to 96 mmboe. The discovery is considered fully appraised and commercial. Development is likely to be via the Troll Field infrastructure, in conjunction with other recent discoveries, including Røver Nord (Wellesley 20% WI), Swisher (Wellesley 30% WI) and Grosbeak (Wellesley 24% WI).
Chris Elliott, CEO of Wellesley commented:
“This is another pleasing exploration result in our Troll area portfolio. In addition to providing more resources to what is already a substantial area development opportunity, the well results proved our reservoir model, and in doing so de-risk other exploration targets in the area. The geometry of the Toppand structure together with the sand-tank reservoir, light oil and high reservoir pressure potentially allows a very efficient recovery from the discovery, in line with the performance of analogue fields.
Recovery of the hydrocarbon resources of Toppand and other nearby fields can be achieved with minimal CO2 emissions due to the power from shore projects being implemented on the Troll oil facilities. We look forward to working with Equinor and other partners in the area both to mature the development of the existing discoveries and to add further resources through more exploration in this highly prolific area.”
About Wellesley Petroleum Wellesley Petroleum is focused on hydrocarbon exploration and development in Norway.
The Company is well established as an active exploration operator, and through exploration success, Wellesley has built a portfolio of high-quality development projects that offer material production growth over the coming decade. Wellesley Petroleum is backed by a group of institutional investors led by Bluewater Energy, a leading energy-focused private equity firm based in London.
