EurOil: Norway enjoys good year

Activity on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) has been high this month, supported by a rally in oil and gas prices, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) reported on July 7.

Eight discoveries were made during the six-month period, with a combined mid-range resource estimate of more than 400mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The largest was made at Dvalin Nord in the Norwegian Sea by Germany’s Wintershall Dea. Some finds were also in the North and Barents seas.

According to the NPD, the discoveries were made in mature areas near other fields and infrastructure, making their development potentially low-cost. Some 17 wildcat wells were drilling in January to the end of June, meaning there was a 47% success rate in drilling.

Exploration is poised for a recovery in 2021 following spending cuts in 2020, with the NPD forecasting that 40 exploration wells will be drilled this year. This compares with 31 in 2020, which was still a comparatively high figure considering the circumstances. Norway’s tax regime is very supportive of exploration work, allowing operators to deduct the majority of expenses from their tax base.

In other news, UK oil producer Harbour Energy, formed from the merger of Chrysaor and Premier, has delayed first gas from the Tolmount field in the North Sea after encountering issues with the platform’s electrical systems.

A final investment decision (FID) was taken on Tolmount in the UK North Sea in 2018 and Harbour was expecting to launch production this month. In an update on July 21, though, Harbour said that during commissioning and testing of Tolmount’s platform it had identified issues with certain offshore electric systems. Investigations are underway.

Harbour warned that it no longer anticipated first gas until around the end of the year.