EQUINOR has announced it is to drill up to three new gas wells at the Martin Linge field in the Norwegian sector of the North sea.
It comes after the company conducted an in-depth analysis of the wells drilled before the company took over as the operator of the field from Total in 2018.
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The review concluded that several of the wells do not have the necessary barriers therefore plans are underway to drill new wells in order to ensure safe production.
In four gas wells that were drilled at Martin Linge before 2018, well barrier deficiencies that are considered to make them inappropriate for safe production were identified.
Petoro carried out an independent assessment of well barriers that support the operator’s view.
“The wells are considered safe as they are now, but we will keep them plugged and under continuous monitoring until we have reduced the pressure in the formation by producing from other wells. Safety is always priority number one,” says Geir Tungesvik, Equinor acting EVP for technology, projects and drilling.
The Martin Linge plant is designed for a mixture of oil and gas, and needs gas wells that produce at a certain rate for start-up and production.
Mr Tungesvik said: “Our number one priority is to ensure safe start-up of the field. We will therefore plan to drill up to three new gas wells in addition to the two remaining wells from the plan for development and operation (PDO) for the field to produce as originally planned.”
The costs of drilling up to three new wells total about NOK 2 billion.
The Maersk Intrepid drilling rig recently started the drilling operations at Martin Linge.
Equinor is the majority shareholder and operator of Martin Linge (70%). Petoro (30%) is the only partner.
