Wintershall Dea completes successful appraisal of the Adriana discovery
- Appraisal well completed on the Adriana gas / condensate discovery
- Increased recoverable volume estimate of 28-43 million boe
- Subsea tie-back options under consideration
Wintershall Dea and its partners, Petoro, Aker BP, and PGNIG, have successfully completed an appraisal well on the Adriana gas and condensate discovery in the Norwegian Sea. They are now evaluating potential development options.
The appraisal well, drilled with the Transocean Norge rig, encountered high-quality reservoirs in the primary target within the Cretaceous Lysing Formation. Following the completion of the well, the estimated recoverable volumes for the Adriana discovery have been revised upwards, from an initial 19-31 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to a new estimate of 28-43 million boe.
“Our exploration strategy, as a subsea specialist, focuses on investing in areas close to existing infrastructure, where we already have a sound understanding of the geology and potential development options. This improves the possibility of fast-tracking discoveries into new subsea developments. The promising results from the Adriana appraisal well put us in a strong position to consider potential development strategies for this discovery”, said Roy Davies, VP Exploration & Subsurface for Wintershall Dea Norway.
Key area Haltenbanken
The Adriana discovery was made in 2021, as part of a multi-level discovery including the Dvalin North gas field, which is already being developed as a subsea tie-back to the Heidrun platform via the Wintershall Dea operated Dvalin field. The discovery lies 270 km north of Kristiansund on the west coast of Norway, in the Haltenbanken area of the Norwegian Sea close to the Dvalin, Aerfugl and Skarv fields.
“This region is pivotal to our exploration and production strategy in Norway. We are currently developing the Dvalin North discovery and hold shares in several other partner-operated discoveries and development projects in the area. This includes the ongoing Idun North and Alve North developments, which are operated by Aker BP”, said Michael Zechner, Managing Director of Wintershall Dea Norway.
A planned sidetrack to appraise the deeper Sabina discovery had to be abandoned for technical reasons. The partnership will consider re-entry during 2024 or 2025. The Transocean Norge rig has now moved to the Wintershall Dea operated Maria field to commence drilling operations in relation to the Maria Phase 2 development.
About Wintershall Dea
Wintershall Dea is a leading independent European gas and oil company with more than 120 years of experience as an operator and project partner along the entire E&P value chain. The company with German roots and headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg explores for and produces gas and oil in 11 countries worldwide in an efficient and responsible manner. With activities in Europe, Latin America and the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Wintershall Dea has a global upstream portfolio and, with its participation in natural gas transport, is also active in the midstream business. And we develop carbon management and low carbon hydrogen projects to contribute to climate goals and secure energy supplies. More in our Annual Report.
As a European gas and oil company, we support the EU's 2050 carbon neutrality target. As our contribution we have set ourselves ambitious targets: We want to be net zero across our entire upstream operations – both operated and non-operated – by 2030. This includes Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) greenhouse gas emissions on an equity share basis. Wintershall Dea will also bring its methane emissions intensity below 0.1 per cent by 2025. We endorsed the World Bank’s Initiative ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ and continue to support the initiative aimed at eliminating routine flaring in operated assets by 2030. In addition, we plan to support global decarbonisation efforts by building up a carbon management and hydrogen business to potentially abate 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 per annum by 2040. You can find more about this in our Sustainability Report.
Wintershall Dea was formed from the merger of Wintershall Holding GmbH and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, in 2019. Today, the company employs more than 2,000 people worldwide from almost 60 nations.
The shareholders of Wintershall Dea (BASF and LetterOne) and Harbour Energy plc (Harbour) signed a business combination agreement in December 2023 to transfer Wintershall Dea’s E&P business consisting of its producing and development assets as well as exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn) as well as Wintershall Dea’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) licenses to Harbour. Until closing, Wintershall Dea and Harbour will continue to operate as independent companies. The transaction is, among other things, subject to approvals of merger control and foreign investment authorities in several countries. Subject to these regulatory approvals, closing is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2024. See the full BASF release here.
