Noreco - Successful Oselvar appraisal well
Stavanger, 8 February, 2008: Norwegian Energy Company ASA (OSE:NOR), The appraisal drilling on the Oselvar discovery in Norway has been completed. The results are positive, and the license partners expect to submit a plan for development and operation to Norwegian authorities in 2008. Noreco owns 15% of the discovery.
- We are very pleased with the results of the appraisal program at Oselvar. The wells have proven better reservoir flow performance than expected and confirmed our pre-drill resource estimate. Noreco is looking forward to work with our partners on a fast-track development of the field, says CEO Scott Kerr.
Noreco's pre-drill resource estimate for the discovery was 42 million barrels of oil equivalents. The results from the wells are encouraging with respect to a development of the discovery, and a plan for development and operation is planned submitted in 2008.
In addition to the Oselvar discovery, there is significant exploration potential in license PL274. During the summer of 2008, the rig Mærsk Guardian will drill an exploration well at the Ipswich prospect in the license, close to the Oselvar discovery.
Facts about appraisal well 1/3-10A:
The operator Dong has drilled the appraisal well 1/3-10A on the Oselvar discovery in production license PL274 in Norway.
The well was drilled as a sidetrack to the appraisal well 1/3-10, in order to investigate the underlying water zone and to improve delineation of the Oselvar discovery.
Drilling was carried out with the drilling facility Mærsk Guardian at a water depth of 72 m. The objective of the well was to measure pressures and acquires samples from the water zone below the already proven oil/condensate column. Both objectives were accomplished and the data acquisition is now finished.
The well was drilled to 3632 m and terminated in deposits of early Paleocene age, in a position 680 m southwest of 1/3-10. Preliminary calculations of the reservoir parameters in the sidetrack correspond with the results from 1/3-10, while the reservoir thickness penetrated was slightly less than anticipated.
The wells show that the size of the total discovery is within the pre-drill uncertainty range of 2 - 6 Sm3 million producible oil/condensate and 2 - 4 billion Sm3 producible gas. This is equivalent to a range of 25 - 63 million barrels oil equivalents.
Background information:
Noreco acquired 15% of production license PL274 from Revus in 2007. The other owners of the license are Dong E&P Norge AS (40 percent, operator), PA Resources Norway AS (30 percent), and Revus Energy AS (15 percent). The Oselvar discovery (1/3-6) was made by Elf Petroleum Norge in 1991, and is located 20 km west of the Gyda field in the southern part of the North Sea. 1/3-10 and 1/3-10A are third and fourth wells that have been drilled on the 1/3-6 discovery. The results of the 1/3-10 well were announced on 4 January this year, and proved oil/condensate and associated gas and flowed 4,920 barrels of oil equivalents per day in a production test.
For further information, please contact:
Scott Kerr, CEO (+47 992 83 890)
Einar Gjelsvik, Vice President Investor Relations (+47 992 83 856)