Equinor and partners Vår Energi and Aker BP have made an oil discovery in the Garantiana West prospect near the Visund field in the Norwegian North Sea.
The discovery is estimated to contain recoverable resources of 1.3 to 3.6m standard cubic metres of oil equivalent, which corresponds to 8-23m barrels of oil equivalent.
The companies have struck oil in production licence 554, following the drilling of exploration well 34/6-5 S, which was drilled about 10km northeast of the Visund field.
Using the West Hercules drilling rig, the well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,952 metres below sea level. The well encountered a total oil column of 86 metres in the Cook formation.
According to Equinor, identifying hydrocarbons in the Cook formation from the early Jurassic period was the main exploration target for exploration well 34/6-5 S. The secondary exploration target was to assess the hydrocarbon potential in the Nansen formation.
Exploration well 34/6-5 S has also encountered sandstones in the Nansen formation. However, the exploration target is classified as dry, as the reservoir is aquiferous.
The licensees are expected to develop the discovery through tie-in to the planned Garantiana field development project.
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