Lundin declares oil find in North Sea

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Swedish energy company Lundin Petroleum said it made a minor oil discovery that may be associated with the larger Edvard Grieg field in the North Sea.

Lundin announced it ran through a 100-foot column of hydrocarbon while drilling into its Rolvsnes exploration well, quantifying it as a minor discovery.

"Pressure data and oil type indicate that the petroleum system is in communication with the Edvard Grieg South discovery which was made by Lundin Norway in 2009," the company said in a statement.

Commercial production at Edvard Grieg started in November. Peak production is anticipated at 90,000 barrels of oil and 53 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Earlier delays in installing the infrastructure for Edvard Grieg production prompted Lundin, which has headquarters in Sweden, to revise its full-year production guidance for 2015 lower to 32,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day.

Lundin said it estimated the gross reserve range for Rolvsnes at between 3 million and 16 million barrels of oil equivalent.

"Further studies will be required to incorporate all the findings and establish future planning, such as the potential drilling of an extended reach well from the Edvard Grieg platform with an associated long-term production test," the company said.