Oil&Gas: Sterling Resources F17-09 drilling – offshore

Since March 2011 Sterling Resources Netherlands and WEP have worked together to prepare for drilling operations in the F17 offshore block. The F17 oilfield was first drilled in by NAM in 1982 but considered un-economic at the time. Re-assessment of the seismic by the Sterling geological department led to the decision to drill a single vertical well in an as yet undrilled sector of the field. In July 2012 the Maersk Resolute became available for the drilling operation and well planning operations were speeded up in preparation for a planned spud on 1st of November. The rig arrived on location the 21st of December, after four weeks of waiting on weather at the previous location, and the rig was released on the 9th of February. The well was successfully drilled to target and an oil-water contact encountered at ca. 2000m sub-sea. No welltest was performed and the well plugged and abandoned.

WEP was responsible for the well design, service and material procurement, and drilling management/supervision. During the preparation phase, WEP has furthermore assisted with the setup of the corporate Dutch HSE system and site-specific issues with operating in a shipping lane.