Wellesley Drills North Sea Duster

An exploration well drilled by Norway's Wellesley Petroleum near the Gjoa gas field in the North Sea has turned up dry, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said on September 18.

The 1,290-m well at production licence 829 was targeting lower Cretaceous formations, but found no hydrocarbons. It was sunk in waters 211 m deep some 75 km north of Gjoa.

The borehole has been plugged and abandoned, and the Borgland Dolphin rig using to drill it is now bound for the Kvina Verft boatyard in Fedafjorden. Wellesley has a 60% interest in PL829, while partners Equinor and Petoro have 20% shares each.

The disappointment comes after Equinor, Wellesley and Source Energy together made a discovery in the North Sea in July near the Kvitebjorn gas field.