7321/8-2 S

General

Well 7321/8-2 S was drilled to test the Sandia prospect in the Fingerdjupet Basin in the Barents Sea. The primary objective was to penetrate the Realgrunnen- and Storfjorden Subgroup (uppermost Snadd Formation) to determine hydrocarbon content and assess the reservoir thickness and properties. The secondary objective was data acquisition to improve understanding of potential reservoir rocks in the Early Cretaceous (the "Scarecrow" unit in the Kolje Formation).

Operations and results

A 9 7/8 pilot hole 7321/8-U-1 was spudded 15 m away from the main bore location and drilled to planned 13 3/8" casing at 825 m. No shallow gas was observed.

Wildcat well 7321/8-2 S was spudded with the semi-submersible installation Leiv Eiriksson on 1 June 2020 and drilled to 1095 m where severe losses occurred, and the well was plugged back and side-tracked from kick-off at 825 m (7321/8-2 ST2). Losses occurred again at 1165 m. This was cured by LCM and cement. Drilling proceeded with reduced mud weight, but still with losses, to final TD at 1899 m (1901.6 m TVD) in the Late Triassic Snadd Formation. The well was drilled with seawater and hi-vis pills down to 820 m and with Glydril mud from 820 m to TD.

The well was dry. The "Scarecrow" siltstone interval within the Kolje Formation was penetrated from 870 to 966 m had high drill gas levels. Only very weak hydrocarbon shows were observed in the Stø Formation and the Reke Member of the Fruholmen Formation, typically described as "No odour, no stain, no direct fluorescence, very slow blooming dull blue-white fluorescent cut, no visible cut, dull yellow fluorescent residual ring, no visible residue".

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