Equinor makes ninth oil, gas discovery in North Sea

World Oil Staff August 18, 2023

(WO) – Equinor has made a new discovery in the Troll/Fram area in the northern North Sea. This is the ninth successful well in this area in 12 attempts since 2019.

map of Equinor's North Sea oil and gas discovery
Courtesy of Equinor

The volumes are estimated at between 9 and 35 MMboe. The discovery consists of both oil and gas, mostly oil. The licensees regard the discovery as commercial and will consider tie-back to other discoveries and existing infrastructure in the area.

One exploration well with a side-track has been drilled in the Crino/Mulder prospect, about 4 km west of the Fram field and 130 km northwest of Bergen.

The well was drilled by the Deepsea Stavanger drilling rig. Equinor is the operator of the license, and Vår Energi, INPEX Idemitsu Norge and Neptune Energy Norge are partners.

“It is positive that we can still make such discoveries in an area with a good oil and gas infrastructure, allowing the discoveries to be developed at low costs and with low CO2 emissions," says Geir Sørtveit, Equinor’s senior vice president for Exploration & Production West.

The eight previous discoveries in the area are Echino South, Swisher, Røver North, Blasto, Toppand, Kveikje, Røver South and Heisenberg.

Lead photo: Courtesy of Equinor

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