It’s been a few months since the previous Barents Sea exploration well was drilled; this was in Oktober 2021 when Vår Energi completed 7122/6-3S on the Rødhette prospect near the Goliat field.
With the start of a two-well exploration campaign near the Johan Castberg development cluster, Equinor and partners Vår (30%) and Petoro (20%) now hope to add more barrels to the >500 MMboe project. The wells are situated just more than a kilometre to the east of the Skavl discovery; well 7220/8-3 will target the Skavl Stø prospect and 7220/8-2 is targeting the Snøfonn Nord prospect.
Attend the NCS Exploration – Recent Discoveries Conference, 8 & 9 June in Oslo, and hear the latest from Equinor on the Johan Castberg exploration campaign.
Equinor kicked off the campaign by drilling two observation wells near the exploration boreholes because of a shallow gas anomaly. The company subsequently completed the tophole section of 7220/8-3 before moving to 7220/8-2, which is currently drilling.
The primary target of the Snøfonn Nord prospect is the Tubåen Formation, with the underlying Upper Triassic Fruholmen Formation being the secondary target. In case of a discovery, a combined development with the Skavl discovery is envisaged.
Following completion of the 8-2 well, it is likely that Equinor will return to 8-3 to drill the rest of the section targeting the Middle Jurassic Stø formation in the Skavl Stø prospect.
The Johan Castberg development as it stands now includes the development of three discoveries – Skrugard, Havis and Drivis. The field will be developed with an FPSO production vessel supported by subsea infrastructure. Compared with the original development plan, the budget required to achieve first oil was halved in the light of the 2014 downturn. The field is expected to come onstream in 2024.
Just over a year ago, Equinor also proved 31-50 MMboe of oil in the Isflak prospect situated just north of Drivis.
HENK KOMBRINK
