Posted on May 25, 2023 10:58 PM by
The Maritime Executive
Aker BP has made a major oil discovery in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, near its Yggdrasil development project. In an exploration well in Block 25/2, Aker BP found around 40 to 90 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), double what it expected to encounter.
The well was drilled by Saipem’s Scarabeo 8 semi-subsea rig, just three months after Aker BP received consent for exploration drilling at the site.
“We are extremely pleased with the results from this well. The discovery will be evaluated as a potential addition to the development of Yggdrasil. We see additional upside potential around Yggdrasil and, together with our partners, we will continue active exploration in the area,” E&P SVP Per Oyvind Seljebotn said in a statement.
Yggdrasil (formerly known as Noaka) was previously estimated to have recoverable resources in the range of 650 mmboe. The group of fields will be operated by Aker BP, and non-operating interests include Equinor and PGNiG.
Partners made a final development investment decision in December. The plan calls for a high-tech operating model, the first of its kind, with “remotely controlled operations, unmanned production platforms, new technologies, and data-driven work decisions and processes.” . An onshore control room in Stavanger will manage most day-to-day rig operations.
Yggdrasil is the largest of a package of 10 proposed offshore oil and gas developments that Aker BP submitted for regulatory approval last year. Taken together, these projects are worth around $20 billion, exceeding the scale of all but the most ambitious green transition investments in Europe. AkerBP CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik described the company’s remarkable offshore O&G program as a “manifestation of our ambition to create the oil and gas company of the future – with low costs, low emissions, profitable growth and attractive returns.
Aker BP became Europe’s largest independent oil company in 2021 after acquiring Lundin’s offshore oil and gas business, including Lundin’s 20% stake in the world-class Johan Sverdrup field.
