North Sea oil & gas search underway as drilling ops kick off at first of three wells

July 8, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Norwegian oil and gas company OKEA has begun its three-well hydrocarbon exploration drilling campaign in the North Sea off the Norwegian coast, with the spudding of the first well.

Following the Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s permission for the wildcat well 31/4-A-15 B to be drilled in production license 055, which is operated by OKEA with Rex International’s Lime Petroleum, DNO Norge, Petrolia Noco, and M Vest Energy as partners, the operator has started drilling the first exploration well at its producing Brage field, as part of the planned three-well campaign.

According to Rex International, the exploration well in the southern part of the Talisker discovery aims to test hydrocarbon presence in geological layers that have not been penetrated before. The drilling results are expected to assist in determining the limits of the accumulation and saturation in the area.

While this exploration well is the first of three consecutive wells to be drilled in the same campaign on the Brage platform, the two subsequent wells will comprise another exploration well and a new production well.

Lars B. Hübert, Chief Executive Officer of Lime, commented: “The exploration wells in this campaign, if successful, can add more reserves to the Brage Field, and in turn, extend the longevity of the field. The producer well that we currently have in the same area is doing exceptionally well, and the second producer that will be drilled during this campaign will serve to drain the proven reservoir effectively.

“Production is expected to start during the first quarter of 2026. The Bestla tie-back to Brage is also progressing on track and within budget. We will continue to work closely with our partners to unlock more value from this long-producing field.”

OKEA made a final investment decision (FID) for the Brasse project, renamed Bestla upon approval of its plans for development and operation (PDO), which will be developed as a tie-back to the Brage platform.

Situated in the northern part of the North Sea, 10 kilometers east of the Oseberg field, Brage was proven in 1980, and the plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 1990. With production starting in 1993, the field is developed with an integrated production, drilling, and living quarters facility with a steel jacket.

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The exploration and delineation drilling along the eastern flank of the Brage field resulted in a discovery in the southern part of the Prince prospect in May 2025, with the preliminary estimates placing the size of the discovery between 1.9 to 17.5 million barrels of oil equivalents (mmboe) in place.

With preliminary estimates for recovery factor, this is said to correspond to between 0.3 to 2.8 mmboe. Therefore, the discovery is being assessed as part of the further development of the Brage field in the northern part of the North Sea.

While pointing out that the field has been in production for a long time, Rex highlights that work is underway to identify new methods to improve recovery by drilling new wells, often combined with the investigation of nearby prospects.