Lundin Petroleum Boosts Utsira High Position In Norwegian Continental Shelf

Lundin Petroleum AB acquired further interests in Norwegian Continental Shelf licenses as the Sweden-based E&P works to consolidate one of its core positions in the region.

The company said Jan. 28 its subsidiary Lundin Norway AS entered an agreement with Lime Petroleum AS to acquire Lime Petroleum’s entire Utsira High acreage position covering the Rolvsnes and Goddo basement area for roughly US$45 million.

The acquisition takes Lundin Norway’s working interest in the Rolvsnes oil discovery in PL338C and in the recently awarded, adjacent license PL338E1 to 80% from 50% and the Goddo prospect in PL815 to 60% from 40%.

Alex Schneiter, CEO and president of Lundin Petroleum, said the acquisition will consolidate Lundin’s position in the proven weathered and fractured basement play on the Utsira High, which is close to the Edvard Grieg facilities.

“I am very pleased to announce the acquisition of Lime Petroleum’s working interests in Rolvsnes and Goddo, which not only further consolidates our position in one of our core areas, but also offers the opportunity to further benefit from the significant potential in this successfully tested basement play, which is unique on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” Schneiter said in a statement. “This acquisition also provides further commercial alignment with Edvard Grieg, as we focus on using high-margin, tie-back developments to extend plateau production through the facilities beyond the current mid-2020 guidance.”

The combined gross resource potential of the Rolvsnes and Goddo area is more than 250 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), according to the Lundin press release.

Rolvsnes is located 3 km (1.86 miles) south of the Lundin Norway-operated Edvard Grieg platform on the Utsira High and has a gross estimated resource range of between 14 million and 78 million boe.

Following the successful appraisal well and production test in 2018, an extended well test is expected to be conducted at Rolvsnes in 2021 to better understand the long-term reservoir behavior. The production test in 2018 further de-risked the on trend Goddo basement prospect in adjacent PL815, on which an exploration well will be drilled in 2019.

The agreement with Lime Petroleum, which is a subsidiary of Rex International Holding Ltd., includes a cash payment of US$43 million plus a contingent payment of a further US$2 million. The transaction is effective from January.