Equinor hits a dry patch in Barents Sea prospect

September 1, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Norwegian state-owned oil and gas giant Equinor has found no commercial hydrocarbons in an exploration well in the Barents Sea, which was drilled with COSL Drilling Europe’s semi-submersible rig off the coast of Norway.

After Equinor received a drilling permit for the wellbore 7117/4-1 (Deimos) in production license 1238, which the firm operates with a 40% stake, while Vår Energi, Aker BP, and Petoro, each hold 20%, respectively, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) confirmed that the wildcat well was drilled 135 kilometers west of the Snøhvit field and 260 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest.

The COSL Prospector rig drilled the 7117/4-1 well, which is seen as the first one drilled in this production license awarded in March 2024 as part of the awards in predefined areas (APA) 2023, to a vertical depth of 2,511 meters below sea level and terminated in the Torsk Formation in the Middle Eocene.

The rig deal, referring to a two-year contract in September 2023, with three years of extension options for a maximum duration of five years, builds on the cooperation between Vår Energi and Equinor, enabling the duo to secure access to the rig for the 2024-2026 period.

During the drilling of the 7117/4-1 well, the primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Eocene reservoir rocks in the Torsk Formation, while the secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Palaeocene reservoir rocks in the lower Torsk Formation.

According to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, operational challenges associated with unusually high pressure in the Eocene part of the Torsk Formation resulted in a technical sidetrack. The water depth at the site is 283 meters.

As the well did not encounter reservoir rocks in the primary exploration target in the Torsk Formation, the secondary exploration target in the Torsk Formation was not achieved. However, above the primary exploration target, the well encountered a four-meter sandstone layer with good reservoir quality in the Torsk Formation.

This well, which is classified as dry, was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition was undertaken; thus, it will be permanently plugged and abandoned.