Portrush exploration well disappoints, Faroe Petroleum says

ABERDEEN, United Kingdom -- Shell’s Portrush exploration well has come up dry, junior partner Faroe Petroleum reports.

The objective section in the Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Rogn and Melke formations) was encountered with a thickness of about 330 m, and while 134 m was reservoir sand, of variable quality, no hydrocarbons were encountered.

Well 6407/10-5 was drilled to a vertical depth of 2,850 m below sea level, and was terminated in the objective interval. The water depth at the site is 336 m. Once the data acquisition program has been completed, the well will be permanently plugged and abandoned.

This well was the first exploration well to be drilled in production license PL793, awarded in January 2015 (APA 2014), and is in the Grimsan basin, Haltenbanken, approximately 20 km southwest of Draugen field and less than 10 km southeast of Njord field.

The well was drilled ahead of schedule using the Transocean Barents and operated by AS Norske Shell.