Author: Oksana Hillervik

The wells were drilled about 8 kilometres northwest of 25/8-11 Ringhorne on the Balder field in the North Sea, about 200 kilometres west of Stavanger.

The 25/8-19 S (Iving) discovery was proven in 2019 in reservoir rocks from the Palaeocene (Heimdal Formation), the Early Jurassic (Statfjord Group), the Late Triassic (Skagerrak Formation) and in basement rock.

Before appraisal wells 25/8-21 S and 25/8-22 S were drilled, the operator’s resource estimate for the discovery was between 2 and 11 million standard cubic metres (Sm³) of recoverable oil equivalent in the Skagerrak formation.

The primary exploration target for well 25/8-21 S was to encounter the oil/water contact in sandstones in the Skagerrak Formation. The secondary exploration target was to evaluate the petroleum potential in the basement rock reservoir.

The primary exploration target for well 25/8-22 S was to evaluate the petroleum potential in sandstones in the lower part of the Statfjord Group and in the Skagerrak Formation. The secondary exploration target was to evaluate the petroleum potential in the Heimdal Formation and basement rock.

The results show that the appraisal wells will lead to a downward adjustment of the resource estimate in the Skagerrak Formation in 25/8-19 S (Iving), but it is still too early to give an updated estimate for the discovery.

The licensees will assess the results in the Skagerrak Formation in combination with other petroleum-bearing levels and discoveries in the area for further follow-up.

For more information see full press release from the Operator at the NPD webpage.

Wellify is the first product coming out of Cuttings Insight, a non-commercial collaboration project initiated by Pandion Energy in 2020, with DNO Norge AS and Spirit Energy Norway AS as partners and Itera ASA as technical provider. The launch of Wellify marks the end of a successful development and test period. The product is now daily in use with all three companies, demonstrating the rapid acceptance of new digital solutions when user driven. 

The idea behind Wellify was to provide the geoscientists with easy access to the high-resolution photos and mineral analysis coming from another joint industry collaboration project, namely the Released Well Initiative (RWI). With cuttings samples from more than 1,900 wells on the Norwegian continental shelf being digitalised, on average 300 – 400 samples per well, this project has created more than two million files and 30 terabytes of data.  

Bente Flakstad Vold, VP Exploration & Appraisal at Pandion Energy says:

Cuttings data has traditionally been an under-utilized and hidden data type. Wellify makes the digital cuttings data accessible and brings new valuable and insightful information about the subsurface.

Wellify provides instant and dynamic access to the photos and data from the Released Well Initiative. As all files are streamed through a cloud-based solution, users get immediate access without having to download large quantities of RWI data sets or to install and integrate a new software into existing systems. 

The project is currently enrolling new members and will enter the next development phase, further investigating additional functionality and potential uses of the data set from the Released Well Initiative.  

 

Read more about Wellify.

For more information regarding digitalisation in Pandion Energy and Cutting Insight contact: 

Helge Nordtorp 

(+47) 416 37 430 

helge.nordtorp@pandionenergy.no 

 

For a demonstration of Wellify contact: 

Bjørn Haugland 

(+47) 986 84 646 

bjorn.haugland@pandionenergy.no  

 

The Hod field will be developed with a normally unmanned installation (NUI), Hod B, which will be remotely operated from Valhall and run on power from shore, yielding close to zero CO2 emissions during normal operations. 

Hod is one of the first projects to be realised under the temporary changes to the Norwegian petroleum Tax Act introduced in June 2020 following the COVID-19 breakout. The field is expected to generate more than NOK 6 billion of tax revenues during its lifetime. Including ripple effects, the project is estimated to create around 5 000 man-years of employment during the execution phase. 75 per cent of the contract values for construction of the Hod B platform and subsea installations have gone to Norwegian supplier companies. 

Both the jacket and topsides are being built at Aker Solutions in Verdal, and the work has secured a number of jobs at the yard. The Hod B platform is being delivered by the fixed facilities alliance between the operator Aker BP, Aker Solutions and ABB. The alliance also successfully delivered the Valhall Flank West NUI in June 2019. 

Hod B is expected to contribute 40 million barrels of oil equivalent and will be important for Valhall to reach the ambition of a total of two billion produced barrels from the area. Production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2022.  

The Hod field has produced oil in the past from what was the first unmanned platform on the Norwegian continental shelf. The new Hod platform is a copy of Valhall Flank West. 

The Hod B topside is scheduled to sail from the Verdal yard in August. At the same time work is under way to plan remaining activities to complete the project. Multiple subsea campaigns will be conducted to install and connect the gas lift pipe, production flowline and umbilical. Integration work is under way on Valhall and the Maersk Invincible drilling rig is scheduled to start drilling production wells this autumn. 

Aker BP ASA is the operator of the Valhall and Hod fields. Pandion Energy AS holds 10% ownership interest in the Valhall area, including licenses PL006B, PL033 and PL033B.

Jan Christian Ellefsen, CEO of Pandion Energy, stated the following:

“The ongoing pandemic affected both operational priorities and financial progress in 2020. During these challenging times, our key priorities have revolved around ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees, protecting operations and, finally, ensuring that Pandion Energy maintains a solid financial platform.

Our priorities will continue to revolve around ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our employees, protecting our operations, and securing a solid financial position until the Covid-19 situation has normalised.

Operationally, our strongest priority is to deliver production and continue developing the Valhall and Hod fields and progress the appraisal of the recent discoveries. This alongside maturing related upside potential and further developing our exploration portfolio.”

Pandion Energy’s revenues and other income for 2020 amounted to USD 116.6 million (2019: USD 125.1 million) and comprised net sales of oil and gas, gains from the sale of interests in licences and gain/loss from hedging positions.

Average net production for Pandion Energy was 5,639 boe per day (boepd), compared with an average of 4,334 boepd in 2019, driven by new Valhall infill wells and Valhall Flank West coming on stream during the year.

The board of Pandion Energy continues to monitor the situation related to the coronavirus pandemic closely.

In 2020, Pandion Energy was one of the first E&P companies in Norway to become carbon neutral for Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and announced a strategy in early 2021 for maintaining its position with a low carbon impact and net zero status.

The board considers Pandion Energy to be well positioned for further growth. The company remains committed to its strategy of being an active and responsible partner, participating in all phases of oil and gas resources on the NCS.

Pandion Energy Annual Report 2020

Pandion Energy AS and Wintershall Dea Norge AS have completed their previously announced transaction, whereby Pandion Energy has acquired a 2.5% non-operated interest in PL 820S, comprising the Iving oil and gas discovery announced in 2020, and a 15% non-operated interest in PL 617. Following completion, Pandion Energy holds a 12.5% interest in PL 820S and a 15% interest in PL 617.

PL 820S is located in blocks 25/7 & 8, north-northwest of the Balder and Ringhorne fields. The partnership is currently planning an appraisal campaign to be carried out later this year.

PL 617 is located in block 2/9, east-northeast of the Valhall & Hod fields. Earlier this year, the partnership drilled an exploration well on the Eidsvoll prospect. The well was reported dry.

Related post: 31 December 2020 – Pandion Energy acquires license interests from Wintershall Dea.

Pandion Energy recognises that climate change is of critical importance to the future of the planet and supports the goal of the Paris Agreement to achieve a carbon neutral global economy.

The commitment to carbon neutrality has been achieved initially by offsetting CO2 emissions through programmes that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Despite the Company’s carbon intensity per produced barrel being one of the lowest in the global E&P industry – ranging from 1.2 – 3.4 CO2e/boe for its net production – Pandion Energy recognises the importance of minimising its carbon impact as swiftly as possible.

Pandion Energy’s approach to maintaining its low carbon impact position is set out in its Strategy to Net Zero Carbon document and includes:

• Pursuing exploration and appraisal opportunities only in areas with existing or plausible future access to renewable energy sources
• Incorporating GHG emissions and the potential for future carbon reduction as a new investment criterion for Development and Production assets
• Incorporating the cost of carbon in evaluating new investments

Pandion Energy aims to align our disclosures with the recommendations set forth by Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) from 2021.

CEO of Pandion Energy, Jan Christian Ellefsen says:

A carbon light strategy has always been an imperative for Pandion Energy and our ongoing commitment to carbon neutrality alongside our new investment criteria represents a further positive step in our ambition to achieve Net Zero.

“As the rest of the world starts to move closer to Norway’s leading position on carbon emission reduction, we will continue our work to minimise our footprint and support other players in the sector to do the same.

We also see that further improvements to sharing of environmental data from operators to partners in all licences on the NCS, is an important step to reduce the industry’s climate footprint. Pandion Energy will be working actively towards a common industry standard for sharing and reporting on such data.”

Download Pandion Energy’s full Net Zero Strategy statement.

The APA award was announced by the Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Tina Bru on Tuesday 19 January. For more information about the APA 2020 Licensing Round see Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s website.

Pandion Energy has been awarded the following licenses:

• License PL 1108 in block 35/9 is located on the Måløy slope, west of the Gjøa field and north-east of the Nova field. Pandion Energy has considerable experience in this area, including the Duva field development project. Pandion Energy has been offered a 30 percent participating interest in PL 1108
• License PL 1119 in blocks 6406/2,3,5 & 6 is located in the central part of the Halten Terrace, adjacent to the Tyrihans Sør, Trestakk and the Lavrans fields, as well as multiple discoveries. Pandion Energy has been offered a 20 percent participating interest in PL 1119.
• License PL 263 F is additional acreage to PL 263 D/E located in the Norwegian Sea. The PL263 D/E license announced a minor gas discovery in exploration well 6407/1-8 S in November 2020. Pandion Energy holds a 20 percent interest in the license.
• License PL 820 SB is additional acreage to PL 820 S, located in the central part of the North Sea, northwest of the Balder and Ringhorne fields. In March 2020, the partnership announced the discovery of oil and gas in exploration well 25/8-19 S, including two sidetracks. Pandion Energy holds a 12.5 percent interest in PL820 S of which a 2,5 percent interest was acquired in December 2020 and is pending completion.
• License PL 891 B is additional acreage to PL 891, located in the central part of the Norwegian Sea, north of Heidrun. In December 2020, the partnership announced a significant oil discovery in exploration well 6507/5-10 S. Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 75 to 200 million barrels oil equivalent. Pandion energy holds a 20 percent interest in the license.

VP Exploration and Appraisal of Pandion Energy, Bente Flakstad Vold comments:

“In addition to expanding our exploration portfolio we have secured strategically important acreage surrounding the discoveries Pandion has taken part in during the past year, further strengthening our position in areas where we see additional upside potential.”

In March, Pandion Energy announced the results from exploration drilling in PL 820 S. Wells 25/8-19 S and 25/8-19 A proved hydrocarbons at five different intervals with the Iving discovery in the Skagerrak Formation being the most prominent with recoverable resources estimated to between 12 and 71 million barrels of oil equivalent. The operator, MOL Norge AS (40 percent), is together with partners Lundin Energy Norway AS (40 percent), Pandion Energy (10 percent before acquisition) and Wintershall DEA (10 percent before sale) planning an appraisal campaign in 2021. The license is located in blocks 25/7 & 8, north-northwest of the Balder and Ringhorne fields.

PL 617 contains the Eidsvoll prospect and is located in block 2/9, east-northeast of the Valhall & Hod fields where Pandion Energy holds a 10 percent interest. The operator, MOL Norge AS (40 percent), is together with partners OMV (Norge) AS (30 percent) and Wintershall DEA (30 percent before sale) planning to drill the Eidsvoll exploration well in 2021.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions for completion, including approval by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

Effective date for the transaction is 1 January 2021.

The wildcat well 6507/5-10 S is located about 23 kilometers north of the Heidrun field in the Haltenbank area, in the central part of the Norwegian Sea.

Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 12 and 32 million standard cubic meters (Sm³) of recoverable oil equivalent, or about 75 to 200 million barrels oil equivalent.

The well encountered a total oil column of 270 metre in the Åre Formation and Grey Beds. Sandstone layers of 90 meters were encountered within the oil column with generally very good reservoir properties.

Pandion Energy, together with operator ConocoPhillips Scandinavia AS, will assess the results of the discovery together with other nearby prospects to determine the future appraisal and potential development solutions.

VP of Exploration and Appraisal at Pandion Energy, Bente Flakstad Vold, comments:

“We are proud to take part in the largest discovery in Norway this year. This illustrates the value creation potential in the team’s ability to make quick decisions based on a multidisciplinary work methodology. In light of the knowledge gathered from the discovery well, we see an exciting resource upside in both the discovery itself and other parts of the license. We now look forward to continuing our good cooperation with ConocoPhillips and contribute to realizing the full value potential in PL 891.”

Pandion Energy acquired its 20 per cent interest in the production license in July 2019 from operator ConocoPhillips, which holds the remaining 80 per cent.

CEO of Pandion Energy, Jan Christian Ellefsen, adds:

“The Slagugle discovery is a prime example of our exploration strategy targeting opportunities close to existing infrastructure with focus on prospects with material upsides. This is truly a great Christmas present and demonstrates the significant remaining resource potential on the NCS.”

The Slagugle well is the third discovery that Pandion Energy announces in 2020. In March, the company made an oil and gas discovery near the Balder field, in production license 820 S. The licensees are currently planning an appraisal campaign of this Iving discovery in 2021. In November, a minor gas discovery was announced in production license 263 D/E in the Norwegian Sea.

For further information see press release from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate: Oil discovery north of the Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea – 6507/5-10 S

• Pandion Energy submits Plan for development and operation of Hod
• Pandion Energy approves the Hod development project