Well 16/3a-E22z
16/3a-E22z well unexpectedly encountered, and subsequently flowed at a good rate from a 16 foot interval in moderate quality sand in the overlying lower Cretaceous Skiff (Cromer Knoll aged). Oil has also been encountered in the Lower Cretaceous Skiff sands in the nearby 16/3a-E22 and 16/3a E16 wells which collectively can now be shown to have penetrated a hydrocarbon column with a free water level at -4,046m TVD sub-sea.
New 3D Mapping
New 3D seismic has been key to unlocking the significance of these well results as the interpretation now shows they have tested the southern and peripheral part of a potentially large N-S orientated stratigraphic trap against the Viking Graben margin. The planned appraisal well location is expected to encounter 150ft of good quality Skiff sands proving the Shelterstone Discovery to be economic in all development scenarios.
Recoverable Reserves
The new mapping shows the Skiff sand unit thickens to the north with the ‘most likely’ resource potential of the Shelterstone trap is currently estimated to be 115 MMbbls recoverable based on conservative criteria. The closure could contain several hundred million bbls if the Skiff sands are encountered up dip with reservoir quality approaching the 25% porosity and 400+ mD permeability seen in the best core data from the 16/3d-13 well.