Equinor Discovers Up to 50 Million Barrels of Oil and Gas Resources in the North Sea

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 14, Equinor announced that it and its partners Petoro and TotalEnergies had discovered oil and gas resources in the Grimsnes exploration area near the Oseberg field in the North Sea. The discovery well, designated 30/8-7 S, is located in production licence PL 190, with preliminary estimates of recoverable oil and gas resources ranging from 19 million to 50 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company plans to leverage existing subsea production facilities to accelerate development and aims to achieve first production within three years.

The well was drilled by the Deepsea Bergen drilling rig, located approximately 145 kilometres west of Bergen and about 15 kilometres southwest of the Oseberg South production platform, in a water depth of 96 metres. The exploration well reached a vertical depth of 3,752 metres below sea level, with a total depth in the Lower Jurassic Drake Formation. Drilling encountered a combined 54-metre hydrocarbon column in the Middle Jurassic Tarbert Formation, comprising a 39-metre gas column and a 15-metre oil column. The Tarbert Formation is 264 metres thick and contains 111 metres of sandstone with moderate to good reservoir properties.

The secondary exploration target, the Ness Formation, revealed a 289-metre-thick sandstone interval with reservoir properties ranging from poor to very good, predominantly an aquifer with locally potential hydrocarbon-bearing intervals. The Etive Formation encountered 10 metres of water-bearing sandstone with moderate reservoir properties. After completing drilling, the operator collected geological data and samples and permanently plugged and abandoned the exploration well.

Equinor intends to develop the new discovery using two to three development wells and a standardised four-slot subsea wellhead template, tied back to the existing Stjerne subsea production facility and processed through the Oseberg South platform. The partners aim to reach an investment decision in summer 2027 and plan to initiate procurement of subsea production equipment in early 2027. Equinor is the operator of the production licence with a 50% interest, Petoro holds 40%, and TotalEnergies holds 10%.