Dana Petroleum announces the discovery of the East Rinnes Oil Field in Block 210/24a in the UK Northern North Sea.
On 23rd April 2008 the Company reported finding the West Rinnes oil accumulation, just 5 kilometres from the Dana operated Hudson producing oil field and 2.5 kilometres from the Company’s Melville oil field. East Rinnes therefore becomes the fourth oil field now under Dana’s operatorship in this prolific area of the Northern North Sea.
The East Rinnes discovery well, 210/24a-11z, was drilled to a total measured depth of 6,935 feet (6,144 feet true vertical depth subsea) and encountered a full Brent reservoir sequence. A comprehensive set of electric wireline logs has been acquired including pressure data and oil samples.
Initial analysis indicates that the East Rinnes oil is similar to the high quality crude discovered at West Rinnes and to that being produced by Dana at the nearby Hudson oil field. Given the similarity in reservoir quality and oil characteristics to West Rinnes, which flowed at an equipment restricted rate of 7,800 barrels per day, the East Rinnes well is not being drill stem tested as the Company has already gathered sufficient data to fully evaluate the discovery.
The East Rinnes well, which targeted a separate fault block from the adjacent West Rinnes discovery, found excellent quality sands in the Lower Brent reservoir sequence with the Upper Brent less well developed. The next step is to integrate all the log, pressure, test and fluid data collected from the West Rinnes and East Rinnes wells. Dana’s technical team will then reinterpret the seismic data utilising this new well information and remap the two structures to determine the volumes of oil discovered in this area so far and to examine the additional prospects for drilling. As part of this process, the development options for the West Rinnes, East Rinnes and Melville oil fields will be evaluated and optimised.
Commenting on the news, Tom Cross, Dana’s Chief Executive said:
"Finding a second oil field in the Rinnes area is an important and valuable result for Dana. The West Rinnes and East Rinnes discoveries should lead to a substantial new oil development in this part of the North Sea and significantly increase the probability of success for a number of Dana’s other prospects in the immediate vicinity, such as West Hudson, North Melville and South West Rinnes."
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