Thursday 22 July 2021

The activity level on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) has been high in the first six months of the year – despite the Covid situation. Eight discoveries have been made, production remains high, and many new development projects are on the drawing board.

During the first six months (as of 30 June), a total of 17 wildcat wells have been completed on the NCS, resulting in eight discoveries. The size of these discoveries is still uncertain, but estimates indicate that, in total, they could amount to more than double the volume of oil and gas contained in the Goliat field in the Barents Sea (estimated reserves for Goliat is more than 31 million standard cubic metres of oil equivalent).

The discoveries have been made in mature areas, near other fields and infrastructure. Utilising the existing infrastructure could allow cost-effective development of the new discoveries, which would then represent significant value creation. New discoveries have been made in all three sea areas, the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea.

Exploration is key

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) also expects a high level of exploration activity in the time ahead. According to the NPD’s forecasts at year-end around 40 exploration wells will be drilled this year, while 31 exploration wells were spudded in 2020.

“Exploration has enormous significance for long-term value creation on the shelf. The addition of oil and gas resources from new discoveries, like we have seen so far this year, is necessary to prevent a sharp decline in petroleum industry activity after 2030. Without new discoveries, production could fall by more than 70 per cent in 2040 compared with 2020”, says Torgeir Stordal, director of Technology and coexistence at the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

“Exploration is also important for the fields. Phasing in new discoveries to existing fields provides a better foundation for a further commitment to improved recovery and extended production. This is a link between exploration and increased value creation from the fields,” says Kalmar Ildstad, director of Licence management at the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

Full story here.