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NORECO (OSL:NOR) Stavanger, 20 August, 2008: Norwegian Energy Company ASA (Noreco - OSE:NOR), Noreco has confirmed a new oil discovery following exploration drilling at the Ipswich prospect in Norway. The discovery is in the same license as the Oselvar discovery where a successful appraisal well was completed earlier this year. Noreco owns 15% of both discoveries.
- The drilling results from the Ipswich prospect are encouraging. However, it is too early to conclude on the size of the discovery. We will do further analysis of the well results and the prospectivity in the area, says CEO Scott Kerr.
Noreco's pre-drill resource estimate for the discovery was 24 million barrels of oil equivalents gross. In addition to the Oselvar and Ipswich discoveries, there is significant exploration potential in the license.
- Ipswich is the ninth well in our extensive exploration and appraisal program. So far we have been successful in eight of these, and we now have some very interesting exploration prospects coming up, continued Kerr.
Facts about the exploration well: DONG E&P Norge has completed drilling of exploration well 1/3-11 and sidetrack 1/3-11 T2 on the Ipswich prospect south of the Oselvar discovery in the southern part of the Norwegian North Sea. The wells proved an oil accumulation in rocks of Paleocene age.
The well was not tested, but the discovery in the main well was further explored by a sidetrack well where coring, pressure measurement and liquid sampling were carried out. The drilling was done with the drilling rig Mærsk Guardian in a water depth of 72 m. The main well was drilled to 3232 m and the sidetrack to 3465 m subsea, and both were terminated in rocks of early Paleocene age. The wells have shown at least 60 m oil column with reservoir properties comparable to Oselvar. Further investigations are necessary to determine if the discovery is commercial.
Background information: Noreco acquired 15% of production license PL274 from Revus in 2007. The other owners of the license are Dong E&P Norge AS (40 percent, operator), PA Resources Norway AS (30 percent), and Revus Energy AS (15 percent). The Oselvar discovery (1/3-6) was made by Elf Petroleum Norge in 1991, and is located 20 km west of the Gyda field in the southern part of the North Sea. The results of the Oselvar were announced earlier this year, and proved oil/condensate and associated gas and flowed 4,920 barrels of oil equivalents per day in a production test. Ipswich is located approximately 5 km south of Oselvar.
For further information, please contact: Scott Kerr, CEO (+47 992 83 890) Einar Gjelsvik, Vice President Investor Relations (+47 992 83 856)
