Norwegian energy giant Equinor has completed the drilling of an appraisal well in the Wisting discovery. The company’s aim with the well 7324/7-4 in the Barents Sea was to acquire data on the reservoir and cap rock, for use in ongoing evaluation and development of the discovery.
In a media notice, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate said that the well was drilled 300 kilometers (184 miles) north of Hammerfest using the Deepsea Stavanger exploration rig. The well is located in production license 537.
The Wisting discovery was proven in Middle Jurassic and Upper Triassic reservoir rocks in the Realgrunnen Subgroup in 2013. The discovery is being evaluated for development along with the Hanssen discovery in the same production license, the directorate said.
Well 7324/7-4 encountered the reservoir in the Stø and Nordmela formations with a total of 39 meters (128 feet), with good reservoir quality, according to the directorate. Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. The licensees will conduct extensive analyses of the collected samples and data to determine their significance for the Wisting development.
According to the directorate, the appraisal well 7324/7-4 was drilled to a vertical depth of 870 meters (2854 feet) below sea level and was terminated in the Fruholmen Formation in the Upper Triassic. The water depth is 396 meters (1300 feet). The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.
Equinor and its partners in the Wisting discovery have postponed the investment decision in 2022 and have pushed the FID target to 2026. The Wisting partners include Equinor Energy (35 percent), AkerBP ASA (35 percent), Petoro AS (20 percent) and INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS (10 percent).
