Equinor Finds Oil and Gas Near Troll Field in North Sea

COSLInnovator rig (Credit: COSL Drilling Europe)

Equinor and partners have struck oil and gas in the Fram area, nine kilometers north of the Troll field in the North Sea.

The discoveries were made in exploration well 35/11-31 S in production license 090, operated by Equinor with 45% working interest, with partners Vår Energi and Inpex Idemitsu Norge holding 40% and 15% stakes respectively.

The well was drilled by the COSL’s COSLInnovator semi-submersible drilling rig.

One exploration well has encountered petroleum in two reservoirs. One of the discoveries consists of both oil and gas, while the other one is just gas.

In total, the resources are estimated at between 0.1 and 1.1 million standard cubic meters. The reservoir properties are assessed as moderate to very good. The preliminary name of the discovery is F-South.

"These are discoveries in an interesting area with a well-developed infrastructure. In recent years, we have made several discoveries in the neighborhood, and we plan to further explore the area. We believe that we may encounter more, both oil and gas," said Geir Sørtveit, Equinor's senior vice president for Exploration & Production West on the Norwegian continental shelf.

The licensees will consider tying F-South back to existing or future infrastructure.

The other discoveries made in this area since 2019 are Echino South, Swisher, Røver North, Blasto, Toppand, Kveikje, Røver South, Heisenberg, Crino/Mulder, Rhombi and Ringand.

Echino South and Blasto, together with two smaller discoveries from previous years, form the basis for the development of Fram South. The plan for development and operation of this subsea development was submitted to the authorities in June this year.