Equinor Makes Oil and Gas Discovery Near Troll Field in North Sea

The Deepsea Atlantic semi-submersible rig (Credit: Odfjell Drilling)

Equinor and its partners DNO and Petoro have made an oil and gas discovery west of the Troll field in the North Sea, currently estimated at between 2 and 12 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The discovery, made 17 kilometers from the Troll field, consists of both oil and gas. The preliminary name of the discovery is Ringand. This is the second discovery in a short time in the area.

Measured in standard cubic metres, the discovery is estimated at between 0.3 and 2 million Sm3. The discovery will probably not be commercial for development in isolation, according to Equinor.

The well, 31/1-4, was drilled by the Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Atlantic drilling rig, in production licence 923/923B.

Equinor is the operator of the license with 60% working interest, while DNO Norge and Petoro hold 20% each.

"It's a small discovery, but in an interesting area that we plan to further explore with much existing infrastructure. If more discoveries are made, it may be relevant to combine these to ensure good resource utilisation and the best possible economy," said Geir Sørtveit, Equinor's senior vice president for Exploration & Production West on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).