Fresh North Sea oil & gas discovery enriches Norwegian field’s hydrocarbon arsenal

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has made a new oil and gas discovery in the North Sea off Norway, providing more hydrocarbon resources for a field, which is said to be the third-largest oil producer ever on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). 

Back in February 2023, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) gave Equinor a drilling permit for the wildcat well 30/6-C-2 A in production license 053, which is operated by Equinor with an ownership interest of 49.3%. The Norwegian giant’s license partners are Petoro (33.6%), TotalEnergies EP Norge (14.7%), and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (2.4%).

According to the NPD, Equinor has discovered oil and gas in the Lambda prospect, also known as the exploration well 30/6-C-2 A, about four kilometers west of the Oseberg field in the North Sea. These discoveries were made in two different formations.

Furthermore, the primary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in Upper Triassic to Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks in the Statfjord Group. The secondary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks in the Cook Formation.

The well 30/6-C-2 A encountered about 23 meters of oil and gas-filled sandstone with good reservoir quality in the Eiriksson Formation in the Statfjord Group. In the Cook Formation, the well encountered about 15 meters of oil and gas-filled sandstone with moderate to good reservoir quality. The petroleum/water contact was encountered in the Eiriksson Formation, but not in the Cook Formation.

Based on the preliminary estimates, the size of the discovery in the Eiriksson Formation is between 0.2 and 0.4 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent while the discovery in the Cook Formation is between 0.2 and 1.0 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent.

The NPD is adamant that these discoveries represent “important additional resources” for Oseberg. Therefore, Equinor and its partners will continue to work to improve understanding of the discovery and to identify production solutions for oil and gas.

Moreover, the well 30/6-C-2 A was drilled to a vertical depth of 2,795 meters below sea level and was terminated in the Eiriksson Formation. While the well was not formation-tested, data collection has been carried out. The water depth at the site is 109 meters.

The well was drilled from the Oseberg C integrated production, drilling, and living quarters platform that sits atop a steel jacket in the northern part of the field and has been plugged back. This platform is part of the Oseberg Field Centre, which is located in blocks 30/6 and 30/9, about 130 kilometers northwest of Bergen.

The Oseberg Field Centre includes three platforms, Oseberg A, B, and D, connected to one another with bridges, in the southern part of the Oseberg field, and the Oseberg C platform, which lies 13 kilometers north of the field center. Oseberg was proven in 1979 and came on stream in 1988.