Lundin Petroleum report that drilling of the appraisal well 16/5-2S on the Avaldsnes discovery located in the North Sea sector of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), has commenced.

The planned total vertical depth is approximately 2,150 meters below mean sea level and the well will be drilled using the semi-submersible drilling rig Bredford Dolphin. The drilling operation is expected to take approximately 40 days.

The objective of the well is to appraise the Avaldsnes discovery following the 16/2-6 discovery well in 2010 and the successful appraisal wells 16/3-4 and 16/2-7 drilled earlier this year. The 16/5-2S well will be followed in 2012 by further Avaldsnes appraisal wells in PL501.

Lundin Petroleum has previously announced estimated gross contingent recoverable resources for the Avaldsnes discovery located in PL501 of between 800 million and 1.8 billion barrels of oil. The gross contingent recoverable resources of the Aldous Major South discovery located in PL265 have been estimated previously by Statoil at between 900 million to 1.5 billion barrels of oil. The Avaldsnes/Aldous Major South discovery is therefore estimated to contain gross contingent recoverable resources of 1.7 to 3.3 billion barrels, which is one of the largest discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Lundin Petroleum is the operator of PL501 with 40 percent interest. Partners are Statoil Petroleum AS with 40 percent and Maersk Oil Norway AS with 20 percent interest.

Lundin Petroleum is a partner with a 10 percent interest in PL265. Statoil Petroleum AS is the operator with 40 percent, Petoro has 30 percent and Det Norske oljeselskap ASA has 20 percent interest.

Tags: Lundin Petroleum