Isabella discovery : French oil and gas giant Total, Neptune Energy and other partners in license P1820 have made a hydrocarbon discovery following the drilling of the Isabella 30/12d-11 well in the Central North Sea offshore UK.

The discovery was made nearly 40 kilometers south of the producing Elgin-Franklin gas and condensate fields and 170 kilometers east of Aberdeen, Scotland.

The Isabella 30/12d-11 exploratory well, which was drilled in a water depth of nearly 80 meters, intersected 64 meters net pay of lean gas and condensate and also high-quality light oil, in Upper Jurassic and Triassic sandstone reservoirs. It was drilled to a total depth of 5,557 meters by the Noble Sam Hartley jack-up rig when it had encountered the hydrocarbons.

According to Total, analysis of the data and results are being carried out to evaluate the discovered resources and to determine the appraisal program needed for confirming the commerciality of the Isabella discovery.

Commenting on the Isabella discovery, Kevin McLachlan – Senior Vice President Exploration at Total said: “The initial results at Isabella are encouraging. This demonstrates that our exploration strategy in the North Sea to explore for value adding prospects nearby to our infrastructure is working.”

Total is the operator of the P1820 license with a 30% stake. Neptune Energy holds a 50% stake, while the other partners in the offshore UK concession are Ithaca Energy (10%) and Edison’s wholly-owned subsidiary Euroil Exploration (10%).

The Isabella 30/12d-11 well is now being plugged and abandoned, said Neptune Energy, which revealed that the initial findings from the new discovery in the North Sea indicate significant promise.

Jim House – CEO of Neptune Energy, commenting on the Isabella discovery, said: “The discovery of hydrocarbons in three separate formations is positive news for Neptune and our partners. While analysis of the results is ongoing, the initial findings show significant promise.

“Having acquired our interest in the exciting HPHT Isabella prospect in 2018, the result further strengthens our growing UK portfolio and demonstrates the significant remaining hydrocarbon potential in the region.”

  Euroil Exploration, Isabella discovery, Ithaca Energy, Kevin McLachlan, Neptune Energy, North Sea, Scotland, Total, United Kingdom