The Glenlivet gas discovery – an integrated exploration history

The Glenlivet gas discovery made by DONG E&P and partners (Faroe Petroleum and First Oil) in 2009 is one of the most recent discoveries in the offshore West of Shetland region. The exploration target was an amplitude-supported stratigraphic prospect, and the discovery well 214/30a-2 proved the pre-drill model by finding gas-bearing Late Palaeocene sandstones of excellent quality in the Vaila Formation. The exploration success challenged the exploration history of the Faroe-Shetland Basin, where a number of amplitude-driven stratigraphic prospects led to exploration failures in the 1990s. The prospect was identified by means of high quality 3D seismic data and improved petrophysical and seismic understanding combined with regional mapping of the Vaila Formation sandstones. A detailed sedimentological and biostratigraphic understanding of the Palaeocene succession, in conjunction with the above, helped to de-risk the prospect and led to successful drilling.