OMV Norge has completed a successful exploration drilling campaign in PL 1194 in the Norwegian Sea.

The Transocean Norway Semisub drilled the multi-target well, the first on the license, on the Haydn/Monn exploration properties and encountered gas with estimated recoverable quantities in the range of 30 MMboe to 140 MMboe.

The well was drilled 310 km west of Sandnessjøen at a water depth of 1,064 m. The natural gas field is located 65 km from the Polarled gas pipeline and the Aasta Hansteen field center operated by Equinor.

OMV Norge and its partners Vår Energi and Inpex Idemitsu Norge plan further evaluations regarding a possible connection of the gas to the nearby infrastructure.

Subsea development of the Aasta Hansteen Spar platform through these facilities should accelerate planning and implementation, OMV said, with lower development costs and a reduced carbon footprint.

Berislav Gašo, OMV Vice President for Energy, added: “This discovery could unlock significant potential in the region and extend the life of the Aasta Hansteen gas hub, in which OMV is already involved.”

According to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, the well was designed to test for oil in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks in the Springar and Nise formations.

The primary Springar exploration target encountered a 20 m thick gas column with no gas/water contact and 11 m of gas-filled sandstone layers in the lower part of the Springar Formation.

The secondary target of the Nise Formation returned a 5 m thick gas column in sandstone reservoir rocks.

The well has now been permanently closed and abandoned.