ConocoPhillips : Norway delivers remarkable exploration success

By Tore Falck Ingrid Sølvberg

In January 2021, Ingrid Sølvberg, Director General of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, recognized the great exploration success ConocoPhillips Norway had achieved over a 16-month period. 'They have worked diligently with an exploration strategy that is now bearing fruit. It shows that it is about seeing opportunities, having excellent professionals and patience.'

One month later, Norway Exploration received a 2021 SPIRIT of Performance Award, ConocoPhillips' most prestigious recognition program.

Arild Skjervøy

ConocoPhillips Norway Exploration Manager Arild Skjervøy attributed the team's remarkable achievement to the power of people.

'We have benefited from skilled professionals across the entire organization to achieve our recent exploration success,' he said. 'Our two operated exploration campaigns over the last two years totaled five wells, of which four were discoveries. Three of them, the 2019 Busta discovery and the 2020 Warka and Slagugle discoveries, are particularly interesting. '

Building understanding

Skjervøy explained that the organization was set up to deliver on a strategy first formulated in 2016.

'We are organized by exploration life cycle. One group is set up on portfolio growth and another on maturation. Success depends on those two groups collaborating seamlessly.'

Colin Hirning

According to Exploration Growth Director Colin Hirning, the strategy required building a strong regional understanding underpinned by thorough play analyses and integrated assessments that set the foundation for focused prospecting.

'Success depended on a creative exploration community committed to ensuring high quality work, embracing new workflow solutions, and enjoying the hunt for a good opportunity. It's challenging, but together we're a great team.'

Consistent support from management

'When we formulated the new strategy back in 2016, we knew we needed long-term support to allow us time to rebuild the portfolio, mature, high-grade and drill the best of our inventory,' said Exploration Maturation Director Mike Northrop. 'Now we are dedicated to deliver on our investments by adding new assets to the Norway business unit.'

Mike Northrop

An essential step in the process is reprocessing the company's large database of broadband seismic data coupled with expert support to enhance image quality and analysis. Another example of collaboration with headquarters in Houston, Texas is the 'One Team' approach, where internal networks, the global workforce and technology are leveraged to progress supplemental interpretation projects on the Norwegian shelf.

'It's proven to be a great way to accelerate knowledge development and leverage timelines,' Hirning said. 'We can be both a highly valued customer and an influential peer. This level of collaboration and mutual trust continues to deliver good results.'

Close collaboration

Successful explorers are fully dependent on highly skilled drillers and vice versa.

'The Norway exploration model must indicate hydrocarbons strongly, before we can have success with the well design and drilling campaign,' said Wells Exploration Manager Terje Skar.

Terje Skar

The wells organization collaborates closely with exploration, to define scope, plan and execute the drilling campaign according to ConocoPhillips' wells standard. Once the operations start, the two groups work even more closely, including daily follow-up with the exploration drilling center in Tananger, Norway.

'A small exploration group like ours stands on the shoulders of a larger group of experienced professionals from different functional areas with world class know-how, in the Business Unit as well as the global organization,' Skjervøy said.

Skjervøy added that a commitment to diversity and inclusion is another key to the exploration team's success.

'We need people with different mindsets, origins and skills,' he said. 'One example is how we team up young talent with experience, combining the fresh mindsets of early career staff with the long-range geological insight of experienced explorers. This also helps early career staff develop proficiency quickly. A small team like ours depends on everyone, and what they bring to the table to be creative and successful,' Skjervøy said.

Busta, Warka and Slagugle

ConocoPhillips made the two largest discoveries on the Norwegian Continental shelf last year. The largest oil discovery was Slagugle and the largest gas discovery was Warka, both located at Haltenbanken.

The predrill models for Warka and Slagugle indicated significant volume potential. Now the focus is on proving economic flow rates to determine the potential for future developments.

'Moving forward, appraisal is now needed on Warka to further understand the potential,' said Appraisal Director Karen Protheroe-Winters. 'Warka is an amplitude driven discovery, so we are working to condition the seismic data to help support potential locations for an appraisal well. The appraisal plan would involve an extensive data collection package including well testing.'

The Slagugle discovery will also require further appraisal to understand both scale and quality of the discovered resource.

Karen Protheroe-Winters

The plan now involves drilling an appraisal well with commitment to perform an extensive data acquisition program, including well testing. A new appraisal team has been created and is collaborating with vendors and company exploration experts to deliver an integrated appraisal plan.

Further exploration potential in the Slagugle license and surrounding areas may lead to more exploration wells.

'We have dedicated team members actively working to further progress and understand the regional picture and identify potential upside in the area,' Protheroe-Winters said.

The appraisal team, including geoscientists, geologists, geophysicists and reservoir engineers, will work closely with the well planning group and operational geologists.

In late 2019, the Busta discovery near the Utsira High in the North Sea established a new play trend. While the geological model for Busta was proven with the presence of hydrocarbons in a good quality reservoir, there is still uncertainty in the lateral extent of the discovery.

'We are encouraged by what we found in Busta and very excited to test what's in the greater Busta area,' said Mike Northrop. 'The Maturation team and the Drilling team are collaborating closely in the planning of key follow-up well to delineate this new play trend'

APA rounds

One of the foundations of ConocoPhillips' exploration strategy has been the ability to access quality prospective acreage through Norway's annual Awards for Predefined Areas (APA) licensing rounds.

'We were awarded more licenses via the APA 2020 process, including two new operatorships near the Warka discovery and the upcoming Peder exploration well,' said Colin Hirning. 'We were also awarded a significant acreage addition to the Slagugle license, and a minor addition to a license in the North Sea.'

Past exploration success appears to be just the beginning for ConocoPhillips Norway.