Equinor has spudded a well on its Tiger Lily prospect, making the Norwegian player the first company to carry out exploration drilling in the UK North Sea this year.
The 16/2a-6 probe, located in the East Shetland Platform, is being drilled by the Seadrill semi-submersible rig West Hercules.
According to UK Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) data, the well was spudded on 18 June.
The Norwegian state-controlled company holds a 50% interest in the prospect with BP holding the non-operating 50% stake.
Tiger Lily is a high-impact prospect with a primary reservoir in the Upper Jurassic Fulmar Formation and secondary potential in the Permian.
Dave Moseley, senior analyst at UK-based Westwood Global Energy Group, said Tiger Lily is the first exploration well spudded off the UK this year and comes after a slow start to drilling in 2021.
Moseley said: “It follows on from several wells Equinor has drilled since 2017 on potentially material prospects on the western side of the Viking Graben, including Bigfoot, Pip and Jock Scott.”
“The prospect has several key risks, including reservoir presence, lateral seal and migration. While its proximity to infrastructure means a small discovery could still be commercial, timing of hub closures at potential host infrastructure may dictate the feasibility of such a tie-back.”
Equinor has been contacted for comment.
Although Tiger Lily is the first UK exploration well this year, CNOOC Petroleum Europe in May spudded an appraisal well at its Glengorm discovery in the UK central North Sea.(Copyright)
Source: Upstream | This text was excerpted from the media outlet cited on June 25, 2021 and is provided to Noia members for information purposes only. Any opinion expressed therein is neither attributable to nor endorsed by Noia.
