Equinor and ORLEN have announced a gas and condensate discovery in the Sissel prospect within production licence 1137 in the North Sea.

Location and Resource Estimates

The discovery well, 15/8-3 S, is situated approximately 5 km southeast of the Utgard field and about 250 km southwest of Stavanger. Preliminary estimates place the recoverable resources between 1 and 4.5 million standard cubic meters of oil equivalent, which corresponds to roughly 6.3 to 28.3 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Geological Findings

The well targeted the Middle Jurassic Hugin Formation. It confirmed the presence of condensate-rich gas in sandstone layers in the upper Hugin Formation, encountering a 148-meter gross interval that included 57 meters of sandstone with moderate to good reservoir quality. A hydrocarbon column of about 95 meters was proven, though the gas-water contact was not identified. The secondary target in the lower Hugin Formation was found to be water-bearing with poorer reservoir quality.

Well Operations and Data

Drilled by the Deepsea Atlantic rig in about 110 meters of water, the well reached a vertical depth of 4,282 meters below sea level and a measured depth of 4,359 meters, terminating in the Middle Jurassic Rattray Formation. While no formation test was conducted, extensive data acquisition and sampling were performed to aid further evaluation.

Licence and Next Steps

Production licence 1137 was awarded in 2022 as part of Norway's Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) licensing round, and this well is the first exploration well drilled in the licence. The partners will now assess development options, including a potential subsea tie-back to existing infrastructure in the Utgard area. The well has been permanently plugged and abandoned.