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The renewed interest in the Bjornoyrenna Fault Complex (Figure
1), SW Barents Sea is marked by the two exploration wells, Snofonn
North and Skavl Sto, that will be drilled by Equinor in PL 532
during late Q1 - Q2 2022. The exploration history in the SW Barents
Sea involves more than 130 exploration wells drilled since 1980
which led to 37 discoveries. In 1980,7119/12-1 (Tromso sub-basin)
and 7120/12-1 (Finnmark Platform) comprised the first wells drilled
in the area. Both wells were dry with some oil shows having been
encountered in 7119/12-1. The Hammerfest Basin followed by the
Loppa High and the Bjornoyrenna Fault Complex comprise the areas
that have mostly been explored. As expected, more concentrated
exploration led to more discoveries in these basins. However,
although between the Loppa High and the Bjornoyrenna Fault Complex
the least number of wells were drilled in the latter area, these
drilling attempts led to more discoveries ranking it in second
place.
Figure 1: Barent Sea basin location map showing the area of
interest
Overall, the industry's exploration interest in this area is
undeniable, however it is thought that there is more reluctance to
provide approval for drilling projects in the 'risky' Barents Sea
compared to drilling other parts of the Norwegian Continental Shelf
(NCS). The complex geological configuration and associated
exploration risks are considered the key hindering factors shaping
the exploration history of the area of interest.
With regards to the upcoming exploration drilling, Equinor plans
to spud its Snofonn North exploration well in March 2022 followed
by Skavl Sto. Snofonn North will primarily target the Lower
Jurassic Tubaen sandstone while the Upper Triassic Fruholmen
Formation comprises the secondary target. Completion of drilling
operations in Snofonn North will be followed by spudding of Skavl
Sto to test the Lower to Middle Jurassic Sto Formation. The close
distance between the proposed locations of these two wells, in
combination with the different target formations, raised questions
about the drilling plans, thus; a geological approach has been
deployed to identify the risks involved.
The stratigraphy of the area of interest also includes the
Nordmela sands, which were deposited after the Tubaen and before
the Sto. Nordmela sands are proven reservoir rocks in neighboring
fields e.g. Johan Castberg. However, integration of the subsurface
geology and the presence of eroded fault blocks with the operator's
targets for the proposed wells leads to the assumption either that
Nordmela is absent at this location, due to erosional processes, or
that it is present but exhibits very poor reservoir quality.
Figure 2: Proposed well locations map in the SW Barents Sea
showing the locations of the discoveries made to date organised in
a NE-SW trending band that is believed to follow the Bjornoyrenna
Fault System.
Observation of the discoveries to date in the area in plan-view
suggests that they are situated in an ''organised'' cluster in a
NE-SW trending band (Figure 2), which follows the orientation of
the Bjornoyrenna Fault System. The geometry of the discoveries
suggests that they are hosted in elongate structures, which are
aligned to the Bjornoyrenna faults, as expected. Consequently, it
is believed that the occasional presence of sharp limits at the
edges, with the Skavl discovery field representing a characteristic
example, is indicative of fault-bounded structures.
Very limited to no discoveries were made east and west of the
''zone'' (Figure 2). East of the fault complex at the Loppa High,
the Neiden oil discovery is situated at the northern part of the
platform whereas, Alta and Gohta oil and Salina gas were discovered
in the southern part. Between Neiden and the 'cluster' in the
south, there is a large area belonging to PL 1078 where no
discoveries have been made to this day. In contrast, all
exploration wells drilled west of the fault system at the Veslemoy
High and Bjornoya Basin were dry, with the Pinovin gas discovery in
the Bjornoya sub-basin comprising the single exception.
There is no doubt about the presence of a working petroleum
system in the area.
For extensive analysis of the exploration history of SW Barents
Sea, the geological development of the area and the associated key
structural features as well as the impact on the petroleum system
and planned exploration drilling, customers can view the full report
in GEPS.
Clients can also find extensive information about the operations
in Snofonn North and Skavl Sto wells in the
dedicated articles in GEPS.
Posted 01 March 2022 by Anastasia Polymeni, Senior Technical Research Analyst and Exploration Scout, IHS Markit
This article was published by S&P Global Commodity Insights and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.