Equinor, partners discover up to 50 million barrels of oil equivalent

Photo: Equinor

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 14. Equinor and its partners Petoro and TotalEnergies have made an oil and gas discovery near Norway’s Oseberg field in the North Sea, with recoverable resources preliminarily estimated at 19 million to 50 million barrels of oil equivalent, Equinor said.

The discovery was made in exploration well 30/8-7 S Grimsnes in production licence PL 190, approximately 20 kilometres south of the Tune field and 15 kilometres southwest of the Oseberg Sør platform. The well was drilled by the Deepsea Bergen rig in water depths of 96 metres.

Equinor operates PL 190 with a 50% interest, while Petoro holds 40% and TotalEnergies EP Norge holds 10%. Awarded in 1993, the licence contains the Tune field, which began production in 2002.

The partnership plans to fast-track development of the discovery by connecting it to existing subsea infrastructure and producing the volumes through the Oseberg Sør platform.

“We plan to quickly tie the discovery back to existing subsea facilities and produce the volumes through the Oseberg Sør platform. By making use of already paid-for infrastructure, we achieve good resource utilisation and competitive barrels,” said Frode Skarstein, Equinor’s senior vice president for Exploration and Production West.

The Grimsnes discovery is expected to be connected to the Stjerne subsea installation, which is already tied back to the Oseberg Sør platform. The platform, located in the North Sea, began production in 2000 and serves as an integrated drilling, accommodation and production facility. Oil from the field is transported through the Oseberg Field Centre and the Oseberg Transport System to the Sture terminal.

The partners expect to make an investment decision as early as summer 2027, with production targeted within three years, according to Equinor.

The development is likely to involve two or three wells connected through a standard four-slot subsea template. Procurement of subsea production equipment is planned for early 2027, ahead of project approval. Equinor said standardized equipment could be redeployed elsewhere if the development does not receive the necessary approvals.

The company is seeking to accelerate subsea developments by simplifying project planning, increasing standardization and reducing costs and the time between discovery and production.

Norway supplies around 20% of Europe's oil needs and 30% of its gas needs, according to Equinor. As production from mature fields declines, continued exploration and the development of smaller discoveries near existing infrastructure are expected to help sustain output.

Towards 2035, Equinor plans to drill 200 near-field exploration wells and deliver around 75 subsea developments. The company aims to maintain production of 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day on the Norwegian continental shelf in 2035, with around 70% expected to come from new wells and developments.