Lundin starts Barents drilling near Russian border

While other companies are postponing Arctic projects, Lundin Norway goes full speed ahead with its drilling program for the region. The company this week started drilling at its Eagle project in the Barents Sea.

The operation will be the eastermost of its kind ever made on the Norwegian shelf. The Eagle is located only about 115 km from the maritime border between Norway and Russia.

On board is Russia’s second biggest oil company Lukoil, which holds a 20 percent stake in the license. It is the first well drilled in Norwegian waters with involvement of the Russian company.

Lundin has high expectations from the structure, which is located about 85 km north of Berlevåg, the town on Norway’s Barents Sea coast. Estimates indicate that the structure could hold up to 354 million barrelse of oil, Offshore.no reports.

In a press release from the company, Managing Director Torstein Sanness says that Lundin Norway is ”very optimistic about a future field development in this particular area.

The ”Eagle” is drilled with the Transocean Arctic rig on depths down to 2620 meters.

Oil company Lundin is this year the most active explorer of the Norwegian northern shelf. The company has four wells on its Norwegian Arctic drilling program, among them also two appraisal wells in the Loppa High area and one wild cat well at the Neiden structure.

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The Sweden-based company has over the last years been among the most successful explorers of the Norwegian shelf. In 2013, it made a significant discovery in the Gohta well and another in 2014 in the nearby Alta well. The two discoveries, both part of the Loppa High structure, will be followed up with two appraisal wells.

The Eagle license (PL708) is owned by Lundin with a 40 percent share. The other license stakeholders are LUKOIL Overseas North Shelf AS (20 prosent), Edison Norge AS (20 prosent), Lime Petroleum Norway AS (10 prosent) and Pure E&P Norway AS (10 prosent).