Dutch 'Ruby' Gas Find Extends Offshore Germany
UK-based Hansa Hydrocarbons says it has made a significant gas discovery offshore Netherlands with its NO5-1 well on its so-called GEms licences.
The find might stir interest in the Dutch North Sea where smaller gas fields have looked unlikely to fill the gap in declining onshore Groningen output.
The results of the well exceeded pre-drill expectations, said Hansa September 26, naming the discovery Ruby.
Along with Dutch partners Oranje-Nassau Energie (ONE) and state holding EBN, Hansa appraised the Rotliegend sandstone reservoir and delineated a downdip geological side-track which also encountered gas. The reservoir interval was cored throughout and 24 metres of net sand was encountered with high permeability. This was confirmed by a drill stem test in the vertical well that achieved a maximum of 53mn ft3/d, the limit of surface equipment.
The Ruby discovery, said Hansa, extends across N04, N05, N08 and Geldsackplate licences in the Dutch and German North Sea sectors respectively in a water depth of 28m. The N05-1 well was drilled as a joint well between the N05 and Geldsackplate licence groups, with Hansa participating at a 40% working interest. The well was operated by ONE and drilled by the Paragon Offshore Prospector-1 rig, which moved off location a month ago.
Hansa is operator of both the Dutch and German GEms licences, Blocks N04, N05, N8 and N07c in the Netherlands, with interests post-EBN participation of 25% to 30%, and the Geldsackplate licence in Germany with an interest of 50%.
Hansa CEO John Martin said: “The success of the Ruby discovery is of great significance for the company. Not only have we proved up a substantial volume but it also confirms the extent of the hitherto poorly understood basal Rotliegend sands in the offshore basin. We now look forward to progressing the commercialisation of Ruby and the appraisal of the adjacent prospects in order to realise the full potential of this exciting new play."
Hansa said its decision to pursue this play dates back to its entry into the German offshore with the drilling of the L01-2 well in 2010. The N05-1 well has now validated its approach and leads to a significant de-risking of the neighbouring prospectivity in the Gems and other licences to the north.
ONE and EBN had no statements on their websites.
Martin was a vice president for upstream growth at BG in Egypt responsible for managing its Nile Delta exploration portfolio, prior to joining Hansa.
Mark Smedley