Last autumn, the call from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) to the industry was clear: Have a fresh look at the Victoria discovery!
Victoria, located approximately 30 km northwest of the Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea, is a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) tight reservoir discovery, holding an estimated 140 BCM of gas in place.
It was discovered by Exxon in 2000, and an appraisal well drilled by Total in 2009 confirmed the numerous challenges the discovery would pose for potential development, while the resource estimates were downgraded.
Victoria is one of the largest remaining gas discoveries on the NCS that is still not covered under a production licence. For NOD, it serves as an example of the potential opportunities, as there are many known tight reservoir gas discoveries spread across the NCS. The 7 largest collectively hold more than 500 BCM gas in place, or more than 3.1 billion barrels of oil equivalents (boe).
During a seminar organized last October, NOD presented the opportunities for the industry. Advancements in oilfield technology and completion techniques now offer solutions to the technical and operational challenges related to tight clastic reservoirs.
Multi-stage stimulation using environmentally compliant fluids and drill pipe manipulated sleeves removes the necessity for complex coiled tubing rig-ups, significantly reducing campaign costs and operational complexity.
The directorate is assessing what these advancements could mean for the possible economic development of unlicensed gas discoveries, including Victoria.
At the NCS Exploration and NeXt conference in Oslo in May, Per Valvatne, Senior Reservoir Engineer at NOD, will present the new fracturing techniques, as well as a study conducted by the directorate together with the British consultant company Opecs on the Victoria discovery.
The study concluded that current hydraulic fracturing technology ensures sufficient well productivity for economically viable production.
The study outlines that four wells can deliver ten million cubic meters of gas per day during the first two years. Total production over 30 years is forecasted to be 29 billion cubic meters of gas, equivalent to approximately 460 million boe.
Victoria can tie back to Dvalin, Heidrun, or Åsgard, enabling profitable production if developed while infrastructure remains.
To learn more about the tight gas reservoir opportunities on the NCS, join the conference in Oslo in May.
NCS Exploration – Recent Advances in Exploration Technology + NeXt – New Energy Subsurface
Scandic Fornebu (Oslo)
21-22 May 2025