Tullow Oil sacks off Rome well

Tullow Oil's Norwegian arm has plugged and abandoned an exploration well on the Rome prospect in the central North Sea after it failed to find any oil or gas.

The exploration well, numbered 16/5-6, was drilled in production licence PL776, where Tullow Oil Norge has a 40% operated interest with Concedo, Wintershall and Petoro each holding 20%.

The well was drilled to a total vertical depth of 2,319 metres below sea level by the semi-submersible Borgland Dolphin rig in a water depth of 98 metres.

Tullow has had mixed luck in Norwegian waters in recent months, also having to plug and abandon the Zumba exploration well in licence area PL 591 in the Norwegian Sea in June.

But drilling of the Wisting Central 2 long reach horizontal well in the Barents Sea was completed in early April and encountered an oil column of 22 metres in a 1,402 metres horizontal section with 1,250 metres of net light oil pay.