A small oil discovery has been made by StatoilHydro in the Titan prospect directly east of northern Visund in the Tampen area of the Norwegian North Sea.

Made by exploration wells 34/8-13 A and 34/8-13 S, this strike is estimated to contain 5.6-12.5 million recoverable barrels of oil equivalent. A tie-in to Visund will be assessed.

“Although it’s only a small find, the volumes proven could be very significant for realising a Visund North development,” explains Visund operations head Tom Karsten Gustavsen.

Intended to prove petroleum in the Brent group, the discovery wells were drilled in a structurally complex area.

While 13 A found a small oil column in Upper Jurassic sands, the underlying Brent group proved to be an aquifer. Well 13 S, drilled 2.7 kilometres to the south-east, found oil in the Brent group.

The oil zones in the two wells are likely to be in communication, and both have been subject to extensive data gathering and coring.

“This find is the result of good collaboration between the Visund production team and our exploration specialists,” says Tom Dreyer, head of infrastructure-led exploration in the North Sea.

Tags: StatoilHydro