North Sea yields fresh gas and condensate discovery

December 19, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Harbour Energy Norge, a subsidiary of London-listed oil and gas company Harbour Energy, has made a new gas and condensate discovery in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, which was drilled with a semi-submersible rig owned by Transocean, an offshore drilling contractor.

An offshore rig — Transocean Norge; Source: Transocean

According to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, Harbour Energy has proven gas condensate in the Camilla Nord prospect, thanks to the wildcat wells 35/8-8 S and A, which were drilled in production licenses 248 LS and 248 B, which are part of the Vega Unit in the North Sea, 100 kilometers southwest of Florø. Harbour holds a 60% stake, while its partner, Petoro, has the remaining 40% interest.

These are the first and second exploration wells drilled in the production licenses 248 LS and 248 B. The drilling was conducted by the Transocean Norge rig. The primary target for well 35/8-8 S was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Middle Jurassic (Brent Group) and the Early Jurassic (Cook Formation).

The well, which was drilled to a vertical depth of 4,146 meters below sea level in the Amundsen Formation, encountered a 26-meter gas column in the Tarbert Formation in the Brent Group, in sandstone, totaling 10 meters with poor reservoir properties. The gas/water contact was not encountered.

Two gas columns – 2 and 4 meters, respectively – were also encountered in the Etive Formation (Brent Group), in sandstone totaling 6 meters with moderate reservoir properties. The gas/water contact was encountered 3,752 meters below sea level in the upper gas column, but not in the lower gas column.

In the other primary exploration target, the well encountered reservoir rocks from the Early Jurassic (Cook Formation) with a thickness of 123 meters, in sandstone totaling 34 meters with moderate reservoir properties.

The well also encountered reservoir rocks from the Late Jurassic (Heather Formation) with a thickness of 238 meters, with 39 meters of this consisting of sandstone with poor reservoir properties. Furthermore, the well proved a 2-meter gas column in reservoir rocks from the Early Jurassic (Drake Formation) totaling 1 meter of sandstone with poor to moderate reservoir properties.

On the other hand, the primary target for well 35/8-8 A was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Middle Jurassic (Brent Group). This wildcat well encountered reservoir rocks from the Middle Jurassic (Brent Group) with a thickness of 139 meters, with 53 meters of this in sandstone with good to poor reservoir properties.

The well encountered a 2-meter gas column in the Ness Formation (Brent Group), in sandstone totaling 2 meters with moderate reservoir properties. The gas/water contact was encountered at 3,654 meters below sea level.

The well also encountered reservoir rocks from the Late Jurassic (Heather Formation) with a thickness of 214 meters, of which 36 meters consist of sandstone with poor reservoir properties. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,789 meters below sea level in the Rannoch Formation.

While neither well was formation-tested, extensive data acquisition and sampling were carried out. The water depth at the site is 375 meters, and these wildcat wells 35/8-8 S and A have been permanently plugged and abandoned.

Based on the preliminary estimates, the size of the discovery is between 0.4 and 0.8 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent, which corresponds to between 2.2 and 4.7 million barrels of oil equivalent. The licensees will consider tying the discovery back to existing infrastructure on the Vega field.