Rex International signals start of Okea’s exploration well drilling in Norway’s Brage Field

Multinational oil and gas production company Rex International announced on Tuesday (Jul 8) that Okea, the operator of the oil-producing Brage Field in Norway, spudded an exploration well in the field.

This comes on the back of the Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s announcement on Jun 30, when it granted permission for the wildcat well to be drilled.

The group’s subsidiary Lime Petroleum has a 33.8 per cent interest in Brage Field. The field is located in the northern part of the North Sea, 10 km east of the Oseberg Field.

The exploration well, to be drilled in the southern part of the Talisker discovery, aims to test hydrocarbon presence in geological layers that have not been penetrated before. If successful, its results will help to determine the limits of the accumulation and saturation in the area.

This well is the first of three consecutive wells to be drilled in the same campaign by the rig on the Brage platform. The two subsequent wells will comprise another exploration well and a new production well.

The Brage Unit partnership also comprises Okea with a 35.2 per cent interest, DNO Norge with a 14.3 per cent interest, Petrolia Noco with a 12.3 per cent interest, and M Vest Energy with a 4.4 per cent interest.

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Lars B Hubert, chief executive of Lime, said: “The exploration wells in this campaign, if successful, can add more reserves to the Brage Field, and in turn, extend the longevity of the field. A second producer that will be drilling during this campaign will serve to drain the proven reservoir effectively. Production is expected to start during the first quarter of 2026.”

In May, exploration and delineation drilling along the eastern flank of the Brage Field resulted in a discovery in the southern part of the Prince prospect. Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 1.9 and 17.5 million barrels of oil equivalents (mmboe) in place. With preliminary estimates for recovery factor, this corresponds to between 0.3 and 2.8 mmboe.

The discovery is being assessed as part of the further development of the Brage Field.

Shares of Rex International were trading 4.1 per cent or S$0.007 higher at S$0.178 as at 1.10 pm.