Neptune Energy and its partners today announced hydrocarbons were encountered at the Hamlet exploration well in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

Having entered the reservoir, located within the Gjøalicence (PL153), logs encountered hydrocarbons and a decision was made to initiate coring.

The operations in the reservoir section are still at an early stage and it has yet to be confirmed if commercial volumes are present. A contingent side-track may be drilled to further define the extent of the discovery.

Located 58 kilometres west of Florø, Norway, at a water depth of 358 metres, Hamlet is within one of Neptune’s core areas and close to existing infrastructure.

The drilling program comprises a main-bore (35/9-16S) with an optional side-track (35/9-16A) based on the outcome of the exploration well.

Hamlet is being drilled by the Deepsea Yantai, a semi-submersible rig owned by CIMC and operated by Odfjell Drilling.

Partners: Neptune Energy (operator and 30%), Petoro (30%), WintershallDea (28%), OKEA (12%).