The Glenlivet Gas Discovery - Challenging the Paleocene Amplitude-driven Play of the Faroe-Shetland Basin

In 2009 DONG and partners, Faroe Petroleum and First Oil, made a gas discovery at the Glenlivet prospect in block 214/30a West of Shetland. The discovery well found excellent gas bearing sandstone in the Upper Paleocene Vaila Formation. The exploration success challenged the exploration history of the Faroe-Shetland basin where a number of amplitude driven stratigraphic prospects had led to failures. The Glenlivet prospect was identified by means of high quality 3D data, improved petrophysical and seismic understanding combined with regional mapping of Vaila sandstones. The Glenlivet gas sand is a typical class 3 AVO showing bright amplitudes on all offsets but with increasing amplitude at far offsets. Amplitude response was supported by the depositional model predicting a valid stratigraphic trap with turbidite sandstones pinching-out towards an underlying mud-dominated slope. High quality Vaila sandstone encountered in the nearby well 214/29-1 was used as analogue and petrophysical analysis, fluid substitution and AVO modelling of this sand aided the maturation of the Glenlivet prospect.