Vår Energi hits bullseye with Barents Sea appraisal well

November 13, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

Norwegian oil and gas player Vår Energi has confirmed an oil discovery made in the Barents Sea using a semi-submersible rig from COSL’s fleet.

As disclosed by the Norwegian Offshore Directory (NOD), Vår Energi’s appraisal well 7122/8-4 S confirmed the 7122/8-3 S (Zagato) oil discovery, which was proven in February.

This is the 13th well drilled in the production licence 229, which was awarded in 1997. Vår Energi is the operator with a 65% interest, while Equinor holds the remaining 35%.

The licensees are considering tying the discovery, which was drilled using the COSL Prospector rig, back to existing infrastructure on the Goliat field. The discovery is estimated to hold between 2.8 and 10.1 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalent, or between 18 and 64 million barrels.

According to NOD, the well 7122/8-4 S encountered an 11-meter oil column in the Tubåen Formation in the Realgrunnen Subgroup in reservoir rocks totalling 8.5 meters with good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was encountered 1523 meters below sea level.

Additional reservoir rocks were encountered in the Kobbe Formation, totalling 48 metres with moderate reservoir quality, but the reservoirs were aquiferous. An 80-metre oil column was also proven in the Klappmyss Formation in sandstone layers totalling one meter with poor reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was not encountered.

Water depth at the site is 406 metres, and the well has been permanently plugged and abandoned. The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling were carried out.

Appraisal well 7122/8-4 S was drilled to a measured depth of 2986 and vertical depth of 2793 meters below sea level, terminating in the Klappmyss Formation in the Lower Triassic.