Will the West Bolsta rig now prove commercial quantities of hydrocarbons following a disappointing three-well campaign up in the Barents Sea?
Well 16/4-13S is the first of a three-well Utsira High campaign Lundin has now embarked on, together with partners OMV (20%) and Wintershall (15%). Located just to the northwest of the Solveig discovery, it will initially target the so-called Synrift prospect (the orange polygon to the east of well 16/4-13S on the map), with an option to subsequently test the Western Wedge prospect to the west (west of the currently drilling well).
The Solveig discovery is the southernmost accumulation on the Utsira High. During the recent investor presentation Lundin showed that the discovery, which hosts oil and a rim of gas in Triassic and Rotliegend sandstones, contains between 40-100 MMboe without taking Segment D into account.
It is anticipated that well 16/4-13S is also targeting Triassic sandstones of the Skagerrak Formation, and possibly Upper Permian Rotliegend sandstones. As can be seen from the cross-section shown below, the reservoirs proven in Solveig thus far are part of a complex of tilted fault blocks that is part of the Utsira High. It is because of the presence of faults that the partnership has also planned two side-tracks from both the Synrift and Western Wedge wells in case the first attempts result in a thinner than anticipated reservoir section.
After completion of 16/4-13S, the two other projects on the agenda for 2021 include drilling of the Merckx prospect (152 MMboe prospective resources) just south of Solveig and an appraisal well on Lille Prinsen to the north whereby a further 61 MMboe is hoped to be confirmed.
HENK KOMBRINK
The outlines of the prospects as shown on the map above have been sourced from the Capital Markets Day presentation Lundin Energy delivered on the 28th of January this year.
