Statoil’s Bister fails to show oil

The Statoil-operated Bister exploration well in the Norwegian Sea has failed to yield oil, according to project partner Faroe Petroleum.

Faroe said in a statement on Wednesday that drilling on exploration well 6407/8-7, which spudded April 27, 2015, reached total vertical depth of 2,990 metres below sea level. This was followed by side-track 6407/8-7A which was drilled to a total vertical depth of 2,770 metres below sea level. The company reported that whilst good quality reservoirs were confirmed, no hydrocarbons were encountered. The well will now be plugged and abandoned.

The drilling was targeting hydrocarbons in the Jurassic, Ile, Tilje and Åre formations and is the second well in the company’s 2015 exploration programme.

The Bister well was operated by Statoil in partnership with French firm GDF Suez, German utility firm E.ON, Norway’s Core Energy and VNG Norge, a subsidiary of German natural gas supplier VNG.