Total Comes up Dry at Solaris
Friday 9 September 2016
French supermajor Total has come up dry with its first well on the Solaris prospect in the Norwegian portion of the North Sea.
The 1/5-5 wildcat, located on production licence 618, was drilled to a vertical depth of 5942 metres about 40 kilometres northwest of the Ekofisk field and 320 kilometres south-west of Stavanger.
The primary exploration target for the high-pressure, high-temperature well was to prove petroleum in the Ula formation and the secondary target was the Skagerrak formation.
"The well encountered about 80-metre thick sandstone in the Ula formation with moderate to poor reservoir quality," the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said. "The reservoir only contains traces of gas. The well is classified as dry," the NPD added.
The well, which was drilled with the Maersk Gallant drilling rig in 70 metres of water, will now be plugged and abandoned.
Total holds a 60% operating stake in the licence with Engie and Petoro on 20% apiece.
Maersk Gallant, which was picked up by Total in February after Norwegian player Statoil cancelled a charter that was due to run until August, is now due to take on new work.
Earlier this week, Maersk Oil said it will use the rig for plug-and-abandonment work in the UK sector of the North Sea. The unit will go on to work on the Leadon and James subsea fields, beginning in February.