North Sea Reporter

Published by KL ENERGY PUBLISHING LTD.

North Sea Reporter is an established and respected weekly publication which provides

in-depth news and analysis of the NW European offshore oil and gas industry. 

Drilling

Aker BP has discovered more oil in the Yggdrasil area of the Norwegian North Sea with ongoing Omega Alpha exploration well 25/1-14. The Oslo-listed operator, in a second-quarter presentation, said that it has hit oil in two of the three targets drilled so far, with reserves uncovered in the range of 20-40 million barrels of oil equivalent. Drilling is continuing with the Deepsea Stavanger semi-submersible and another 30-70 million boe of potential is still to be tested, according to the operator. The multilateral exploration well is being drilled to test five prospects in all, comprising Omega, Alpha, Alpha South, Sigma NE and Pi, which are spread across licences PL873, PL873B and PL1249. Aker BP also reported that it has carried out a review of its portfolio of ongoing developments which concluded that they are on track for first oil according to their project schedules. However, costs have climbed, with overall investments required for ongoing projects revised up by around 6%.

Africa briefing

Azule Energy has found gas in the Gajajeira-01 exploration well, in block 1/14 in the Lower Congo Basin, off Angola. The well, spudded in April, encountered gas and condensate-bearing sandstones in one of the Lower Oligocene targets, designated LO100. Preliminary results and fluid samples indicate several reservoirs with good mobility. Initial assessments suggest that gas volumes at the well may exceed 1 Tcf, with up to 100 million barrels of associated condensate. The results also confirm the presence of a hydrocarbon system, opening up new exploration opportunities in the area. Drilling operations continue in the Gajajeira-01 well, with the last interval of the Lower Oligocene LO300 expected as the next target. Azule Energy CEO, Adriano Mongini says: “This is a landmark moment for gas exploration in Angola. The Gajajeira-01 well is the first dedicated gas exploration well in the country and its success reinforces our confidence in the potential of the Lower Congo Basin.”

Renewables

RWE yesterday (Tuesday) reported reaching a further major construction milestone in the 1.4-GW Sofia wind farm, in the Dogger Bank area off the northeast coast of the UK, with the successful installation of the 100th and final monopile foundation. This concludes a 14-month foundation installation campaign carried out by Van Oord as part of a joint engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract for both the turbine foundations and array cables. The foundations, manufactured by EEW, are state-of-the-art. Rather than using a monopile foundation topped with an overlapping separate transition piece, an extended single monopile is installed and secondary steel fitted offshore. This significantly reduces the total steel tonnage required to complete the project, saving on steel and associated energy resources. Van Oord started installation work in May 2024 with the Van Oord jack-up vessel Aeolus. The installation campaign was carried out from the Port of Tyne, the primary storage and marshalling location for all the foundation components.

Weekly coverage includes:

  • Rig Market - contracts, dayrates and utilisation
  • Drilling – a round-up of North Sea activity 
  • Construction and engineering
  • Field development and production
  • Contract awards
  • Company news
  • Data tables of industry activity
  • Mediterranean & W. Africa briefing
  • News briefs