OMV Norge, a Norwegian subsidiary of Austria-headquartered oil and gas player OMV, hasdrilled a dry well off the coast of Norway, using a semi-submersible rig managed by Odfjell Drilling, an offshore drilling contractor.
Following a drilling permit for the Hoffmann prospect inproduction license 1194, owned by OMV Norge (operator, 40%), Inpex Idemitsu Norway (30%) and Our Energy (30%),the wildcat well /4-1 S was drilled to measured and vertical depths of 4,371 and 4,279 meters below sea level, respectively, and terminated in the Nise Formation in the Upper Cretaceous.
The water depth at the site is 883 meters. This is the second wildcat well drilled in this production license in the Norwegian Sea, where a gas discovery was made in the first well,/6-1 S. The Hoffmann prospect, which is located in the Vøring Basin, about 65 kilometers south of theAasta Hansteen field, was drilled by the Deepsea Bollsta rig, owned by Northern Ocean (NOL).
While the objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks in the Nise Formation, the well encountered a 19-meter thick sandstone layer with moderate reservoir quality and gas shows. As the well is classified as dry, with gas shows, it will be permanently plugged and abandoned.
The Deepsea Bollsta rig, whichwon this short-term dealon the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) last year, is slated to move to itsassignment with Equinor. The 2020-builtsixth-generation semi-submersible rig of Moss CS60E design can accommodate 140 people.
