Equinor has discovered gas at the Gullfaks field, which would help maintain production and activity at the production license in the northern part of the North Sea.
Operator Equinor on Thursday said that together with its partners Petoro and OMV, it had discovered gas at the Gullfaks South field, 190 kilometers (118 miles) northwest of Bergen.
Estimates point to between 3.3 million and 10.3 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents at the exploration well, which was drilled as a sidetrack in connection with the drilling of a production well.
“It is very positive that it is possible to make discoveries of this size with such cost-effective exploration wells,” said Gunnar Egge, Equinor’s vice president for the Gullfaks field.
“These will be profitable barrels that can help maintain activity and production on the Gullfaks field.”
The Gullfaks field, which started production in 1986, saw peak crude oil and gas output in the 1990s, but operators offshore Norway, including Equinor, are looking to maximize production from existing fields with exploration drilling close to platforms and operating infrastructure.
The satellite fields Gullfaks South, Rimfaks, Skinfaks, and Gullveig are developed utilizing subsea wells that are remotely operated from the Gullfaks A and C platforms.
Norway tries to maintain a high level of oil and gas production and exports for at least another decade, to boost the economy and deliver oil and gas to Europe.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine cut off most Russian gas to Europe, Norway has become the single biggest supplier of gas to the EU and the UK.
Equinor, in particular, plans to drill 20 to 30 exploration wells every year as it aims to sustain current production levels at least through 2035, the company said in January when it was awarded 35 new production licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf in Norway’s tender for mature exploration areas.
Norway produces more than 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, with oil and gas nearly equally divided at 2 million boepd each.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
