The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said Feb. 16 that BG Group AS is completing the drilling of two dry wildcat wells, 34/3-4 S and 34/3-4 A, about 5 km east of the Knarr Field in the northern part of the North Sea.

Well 34/3-4 S hit a 250-m thick channel system in reservoir rocks in the Pleistocene, and traces of gas were found in two sandstone layers, the directorate added.

The other well, 34/3-4, hit about 110 m of the Cook Formation in lower Jurassic reservoir rocks, and 53 m was sandstone with traces of gas.

Data sampling has been completed.

These are the fifth and sixth exploration wells in production license 373 S. The wells were drilled in 406 m of water to 1,607 m and 4,535 m, respectively, with vertical depths of 1,584 m and 4,321 m.

They will be plugged and abandoned, the Stavanger, Norway-based directorate added.

They were drilled by the Transocean Searcher.

Offshore