Neptune Energy recently announced a small oil discovery with the Schwegenheim wildcat in the Rhine Valley in Germany.
According to Neptune, the drilling operations reached a depth of 2,600 metres, with two layers found to be oil-bearing.
Neptune’s managing director for Germany, Andreas Scheck, said: “The Bunter Sandstone reservoir, as an equivalent to the nearby Römerberg structure, was dry but two secondary target upper layers showed oil indications.”
“During production tests, we have already transported 1,500 bbl of crude oil to the refinery in Karlsruhe. While initial results have been positive, further assessment is required before it can be determined that oil can be produced economically from this structure in the long term,” Scheck continues.
Römerberg is the largest oil field that Neptune operates in the Rhine Valley. This 5–6 km² field holds significant reserves and produces around 3 mboe of crude oil daily. Further development in this field to expand production is a priority for the business.
The Römerberg field was discovered by accident in 2003 when a geothermal drilling project struck oil 2,000 metres underground below the city of Speyer, south of Mannheim. The field began producing in 2007. In the years since Neptune and partner Palatina GeoCon have drilled eight producing wells at two operating sites and produced more than 7 MMboe. The produced oil is transported by tanker to the mineral oil refinery Oberrhein in Karlsruhe.
TERJE SOLBAKK
