Seek and you shall find

Det norske is scheduled to participate in 12 exploration and appraisal wells in 2012, of which we will operate four. Det norske will once again be among the most ambitious companies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the number of exploration wells this year will be in the range of 52 to 55. It looks to be an intense exploration year, although the 2009 record will stand its ground.

Exploration this year is estimated at a cost of 1.5 to 2 billion NOK. Drilling operations on Kalvklumpen were completed earlier this year; unfortunately the well came out dry. See our entire 2012 drilling schedule on the right hand side of this page. Please note that changes to the schedule may occur, thus it should only be viewed as a guideline.

Det norske’s long-term agreement with Transocean Barents runs until July 2014, with an optional two-year extension. The company also holds a contract with Maersk Guardian. A third rig, Maersk CJ-70 (jackup), is scheduled to drill the Draupne production wells. The CJ-70 rig is currently under construction in Singapore.

2011 – a fantastic year

2011 was a fantastic year, both for Det norske and the industry as a whole. Several large discoveries confirmed that the oil and gas industry will be dominant in Norway for many decades to come. And just as important, Det norske will play a prominent role in the future of Norwegian oil and gas. A total of 50 wells were drilled on the NCS, which resulted in everything from “elephants” to small puddles of oil. Det norske participated in 11 wells, of which one operation (PL 468 Dovregubben) commenced in December 2010. The company made discoveries in six out of nine exploration wells in 2011.

This year’s definite highlight was the discovery on Johan Sverdrup (former Aldous / Avaldsnes). Sverdrup is the third biggest discovery ever on the NCS, and one of the world’s most sizeable discoveries in recent years. Det norske’s 20 percent share in Sverdrup West contributed to trebling our resources, creating a solid foundation for further growth.

2011 also brought us some very promising discoveries in the Barents Sea, which strengthens our faith in this mostly unexplored province. Det norske participated in the Norvarg discovery, estimated to hold 10-50 billion Scm³ of gas. Det norske’s share is 20 percent.

Collectively, all discoveries on the NCS this year constitute between 2.2 and 4.3 billion barrels of oil equivalents. Norway and the world society at large will need whatever oil we can possibly obtain. This year’s discovery rate proves that there is more to be found, we just need to keep exploring.

Det norske is scheduled to participate in 13 exploration wells in 2011. Det norske is operator on four of these wells. This means that also in 2011, Det norske will be one of the most offensive companies on The Norwegian Shelf. Find the drilling schedule at the right of this page.

According to numbers Offshore.no obtained from operators on The Norwegian Shelf, it is planned about 60 wells this year. This is almost on par with the record year 2009, commenced with 66 wells.

Det norske plannes to keep the high level of expoloration activity in 2012. In the preliminary budget, presented at the third quarter presentation in november, an expoloration spend of MNOK 1 500 is scheduled for. This means participation in 11 wells.   

Det norske has a long-term agreement with Transocean Barents (picture, to the left) and also a contract with Songa Delta (to the right).

Results for completed wells 2011:

Appraisal well Aldous Major South
Skaugumsåsen
Aldous Major South
Norvarg
Skalle
Krafla West
Krafla
Gullris
Dovregubben 

For more information about Det norskes licenses, see our license portfolio.


Exploration 2010: A year with very high activity

Det norske oljeselskap ASA was in 2010, the operator of nine wells on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It confirmed Det norske as one of the main operators on the shelf.

NPD’s overview of exploration activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf show that there were 45 exploration wells spudded in 2010, of which 40 were completed.

Det norske and Statoil has drilled the most with nine exploration wells each as operator, see illustration below. This is in line with the expectations the NPD had for this years exploration, but lower than the number of exploration wells in 2009.

35 of the 45 wells have been spudded as exploration wells, while the remaining 10 are appraisal wells. 32 exploration wells have been drilled in the North Sea, 12 in the Norwegian Sea and one in the Barents Sea. In the completed wells it has been registered 16 discoveries of hydrocarbons. Ten of the discoveries made in the North and six in the Norwegian Sea. The exploration well spudded in the Barents Sea has not yet ended.

CEO Erik Haugane in Det norske says it's important that it is explored a lot on the Norwegian shelf to prevent stronger decline in production.

The exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf is still too defensive. Although Det norske drilled several dry wells and more than we thought and hopet for, over time our success rate is still relatively high. We know it is far between the major findings, and that it is generally harder to find oil and gas than before. This particularly applies to new areas in the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. It is important that we still have a high level of exploration activity, both for us as a company and the future value creation in the Norwegian oil and gas industry.

See the results for the exploration wells in 2010

Great discoveries: Det norske proved in 2010, more oil in Draupne. This findings is one of the largest on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in recent years. Here is a picture from the successful production test.