PESGB Evening Lecture: September 2021

NW Europe exploration trends – targeting niche plays in mature basins

Dr. Henk Kombrink – Geologist and editor – expronews.com

In NW Europe, infrastructure-led exploration is the dominant way new reserves are being found. However, this does not mean that the same old reservoirs are being targeted. And, even in case it is the “same old Brent” being the main aim, this doesn’t mean that the geological setting is similar to the major Brent fields close by. In contrast, now that the hunt for smaller accumulations is in full swing, prospects are being drilled that would never have made the cut a few decades ago. An example of such a campaign is the successful test of the Røver North prospect in February 2021. Drilled just north of the Troll field, this well is located in an area that was avoided until recently because of an expectation that no traps existed. The well showed the opposite, thereby proving that even in a mature basin there is still an element of frontier exploration at times. The talk will show a number of those examples in the wider North Sea area, concluding that if established concepts are being challenged, there is a future for the basin indeed.

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