23-06-09 A small oil discovery has been made by StatoilHydro in the Titan prospect directly east of northern Visund in the Tampen area of the Norwegian North Sea. Made by exploration wells 34/8-13 A and 34/8-13 S, the find is estimated to contain 5.6-12.5 mm recoverable barrels of oil equivalent. A tie-in to Visund will be assessed.
"Although it's only a small find, the volumes proven could be very significant for realizing a Visund North development," explains Visund operations head Tom Karsten Gustavsen. Intended to prove petroleum in the Brent group, the discovery wells were drilled in a structurally complex area.

While 13 A found a small oil column in Upper Jurassic sands, the underlying Brent group proved to be an aquifer. Well 13 S, drilled 2.7 km (1.6 miles) to the southeast, found oil in the Brent group.
The wells were drilled from Saipem semisubmersible Scarabeo 5, which has moved to PL 199 for a workover of production well 6406/2-S-4 H. The oil zones in the two wells are likely to be incommunication, and both have been subject to extensive data gathering and coring.

"This find is the result of good collaboration between the Visund production team and our exploration specialists," said Tom Dreyer, head of infrastructure-led exploration in the North Sea.
The water depth in the area is 381 meters (1,250 ft). Both wells have now been permanently plugged and abandoned.

Operator StatoilHydro has 59.06 % of production license 120, where its partners are Petoro with 16.94 %, ConocoPhillips 13 % and Total E&P Norge 11 %.
Wells 34/8-13 A and 34/8-13 S are the 23rd and 24th exploration wells respectively in PL 120, which was awarded in the 10A licensing round in 1985. Well 13 A was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,108 meters (10,196 ft) below sea level and terminated in the Statfjord formation. Well 13 S was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,258 meters (10,688 ft) below sea level and terminated in the Hegre group.