Neptune Energy reveals fresh discovery at key North Sea exploration well

Neptune Energy has hailed a fresh discovery at a key exploration well in the North Sea.

The Ofelia well is close to the Gjøa field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Gas from the Gjøa platform is already exported to the UK via the St Fergus gas terminal in Aberdeenshire.

Neptune said the preliminary estimate of recoverable volume is in the range of 16 million to 39 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Located 15 kilometres north of the Neptune-operated Gjøa platform, Ofelia will be considered for development as a tie-back to the existing field, in parallel with the company’s recent oil and gas discovery at the Hamlet prospect.

The Neptune-operated Gjøa platform. Picture: Neptune Energy

Neptune Energy’s managing director for Norway and the UK, Odin Estensen, said: “I am pleased to announce our second discovery in four months which further enhances Neptune’s position in the Greater Gjøa Area.

“Gjøa is an important growth area for Neptune in Norway, where existing infrastructure allows for low cost and low carbon developments.”

The latest news marks the third discovery by Neptune in the Agat formation, a reservoir which until recently was not part of established exploration models on the Norwegian Shelf.

The first was at the Duva field, which is now onstream and being operated by Neptune. The second was the company’s discovery at Hamlet.

Neptune’s director of exploration and development in Norway, Steinar Meland, added: “The Ofelia discovery underlines the strength of our exploration strategy and confirms the high prospectivity potential of the area around Gjøa, where we have several more exciting exploration opportunities.”

Ofelia was drilled by the Deepsea Yantai, a semi-submersible rig, owned by CIMC and operated by Odfjell Drilling.

The news comes just days after Neptune said it had begun work on a tenth gas well at the crucial Cygnus field in the North Sea. The firm said its infill drilling campaign held the potential to unlock enough gas to heat an additional 200,000 UK homes per year from this winter.

Neptune Energy, which was founded by former Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw, is a global exploration and production company with operations across Europe, North Africa and Asia Pacific. It is backed by CIC and funds advised by Carlyle Group and CVC Capital Partners.