StatoilHydro confirms oil column under Dagny discovery

StatoilHydro, operator of PL 048, is wrapping up work on appraisal wells 15/5-7 A and 15/5-7 AT2 (technical sidetrack) on the 15/5-1 Dagny discovery, around 10 km (6.2 miles) northwest of the Sleipner West field. A considerable oil column has been confirmed below the gas in the Dagny structure in the North Sea.
The size of the Dagny discovery is being upgraded to contain between 130 and 170 mm boe now that the drilling of the sidetrack well has been done.

The sidetrack drilling was performed at a water depth of 119 metres (390 ft) by the Transocean semisubmersible Transocean Winner and is the fourth exploration well in PL 048.
The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 4,130 metres (13,550 ft) below the sea surface. The costs of the well will be divided between PL 048 and PL 029, and the well will be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Transocean Winner will now go to PL 212C in the Norwegian Sea to drill wildcat well 6507/6-3, where StatoilHydro is also the operator.
The appraisal wells on the Dagny structure show that Dagny and Ermintrude, confirmed in 2007, have identical pressures and are located in the same structure. A joint development of Ermintrude and Dagny phased in to the Sleipner field is now being considered.

StatoilHydro Senior Vice President of Exploration Tim Dodson said, "This is a very exciting discovery which confirms that there is still a chance of finding larger volumes of oil in established areas such as Sleipner. It is encouraging to see that the organisation's new ideas in mature areas can lead to such good results."
StatoilHydro is the operator of PL048 with a 78.2 % interest with partner Total having 21.8 %. ExxonMobil is the operator of PL029 with 100 % interest in the license.