Ofelia partners complete appraisal well and a new gas discovery in Norway

The partners in the Ofelia oil discovery in the Norwegian North Sea have successfully completed an appraisal well and reported an updated recoverable resource estimate of between 16 million and 33 million boe.

Moreover, a new gas discovery was made in the overlying Kyrre Formation via a side-track to the appraisal well. The preliminary estimates for the recoverable resource potential in this finding are between 11 million and 19 million boe.  

The Neptune operated Ofelia discovery is located 14 kilometres north of Gjøa and just 5 kilometres north of the Gjøa Nord (formerly Hamlet) discovery in the Gjøa licence. Wintershall Dea is a partner in both licences. 

“The completion of the appraisal well marks a significant step towards a potential future development of the Ofelia discovery. We will continue to collaborate with Neptune to further advance the project,” said Roy Davies, Wintershall Dea Norge’s VP for Exploration. “We are also considering a joint development with the nearby Gjøa Nord discovery.” 

The Gjøa platform is a key asset for Wintershall Dea in Norway. This electrified platform hosts the Wintershall Dea-operated Vega and Nova fields, contributing to Wintershall Dea’s low carbon-intensity portfolio. The development of additional tie-backs could potentially extend the field’s lifespan and create synergies with existing fields in the area. 

“Discoveries this close to Gjøa represent high-value barrels for Wintershall Dea in Norway. Developing new tie-backs to the platform is a key part of our plan to maximise the value of the existing infrastructure in this area,” said Daniel Ørbeck, VP Production Operations at Wintershall Dea Norge and Asset Manager for Gjøa, Vega and Nova. 

Neptune drilled the Ofelia appraisal well using the Deepsea Yantai rig from Odfjell Drilling. 

Wintershall Dea holds a 20 percent stake in the PL929 Ofelia licence. Operator Neptune has a 40 per cent share, Pandion Energy holds 20 per cent and Aker BP and DNO Norge each hold 10 percent.