Statoil, Husky drill dry wells off Newfoundland coast

Statoil and Husky came up empty at two dry wells in the Flemish Pass geological basin. Seadrill photo.

Statoil, Husky drilled two dry wells in Flemish Pass basin

Husky Energy and Norway’s Statoil hit dry wells in a prospect they had high hopes for located off the coast of Newfoundland, according to Statoil on Monday.

The companies struck out when the two wells in the Flemish Pass geological basin turned out to be dry. The wells are located 500 Km off the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In a statement, Trond Jacobsen, Statoil’s head of exploration in Canada said “These results are disappointing, as we had hoped to add additional optionality to the near-field area at Bay du Nord.”

Husky did not respond to a request for comment.

Currently, offshore Atlantic Canada production is about 200,000 barrels per day (b/d) of Canada’s 3.85 million b/d output.

In 2013, Statoil struck oil at Bay du Nord and the play became one of the company’s key priorities for further exploration. Statoil believes Bay du Nord holds some 300 million barrels of recoverable oil and Statoil is still considering developing the field.

“We continue to evaluate the feasibility of a development at Bay du Nord,” said Paul Fulton, president, Statoil Canada. “While these results mean a reduction in optionality for a potential project development, we continue to work on this project.”