Dry well for Equinor at Spissa Prospect in Barents Sea

December 4, 2020

The West Hercules drilling rig in the Barents Sea. (Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland)

Norwegian energy company Equinor has drilled a dry well at the Spissa prospect in the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said Friday.

The exploration well, formally named 7018/5-1, was drilled around 100 kilometers southwest of the Snøhvit field, and about 195 kilometers west of Hammerfest, using Seadrill's West Hercules offshore drilling rig.

The primary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Early Jurassic to Middle Jurassic Age (the Stø and Nordmela Formations). The secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic Age (the Tubåen Formation).

The well encountered two water-bearing sandstone intervals in the Stø Formation with a total thickness of 180 metres, with good reservoir properties. The well did not reach the bottom of the lowest sandstone interval in the Stø Formation, nor the Nordmela and Tubåen Formations.

"Weak traces of petroleum were observed in the sandstones in the Stø Formation. The well has been classified as dry," the NPD said.

Equinor drilled the wildcat well to a vertical depth of 1099 meters below sea level. The well was terminated in the Stø Formation from the Middle Jurassic Age.

The water depth at the site is 307 meters. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

This is the first exploration well in production licence 960. The license was awarded in the 24th licensing round in 2018. Equinor operates the production license with a 40 percent stake. Its partners in the offshore license are Petoro with 20 percent, Lundin Energy Norway with 20 percent, and Wintershall Dea Norge with 20 percent.

The West Hercules semi-submersible drilling rig will now drill a pilot well on the Askeladden field in production license 064, also in the Barents Sea, where Equinor Energy AS is the operator.