The well was drilled about 17km south of the Kvitebjørn field and 160km northwest of Bergen

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The Kvitebjørn platform in the North Sea. (Credit: Harald Pettersen/Equinor ASA)

Equinor Energy has made gas and condensate discovery in the wildcat well 30/2-5 S located in production licence 878 in the Norwegian North Sea.

Aimed to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Middle Jurassic Age (the Brent Group), the well was drilled using the West Hercules drilling facility about 17km south of the Kvitebjørn field and 160km northwest of Bergen.

Following drilling to a vertical depth of 4359m and a measured depth of 4390m, the well 30/2-5 S encountered a gas column of about 160m in the Tarbert, Ness, Etive and Rannoch Formations, of which 60m comprise effective sandstone reservoir.

The well estimated to hold up to 10sm3 of recoverable oil equivalents

As per the preliminary estimates, the well holds between three and 10 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents.

Samples have been taken from the well, which was not formation-tested. Extensive volumes of data have also been acquired.

Equinor Norway and the UK exploration senior vice-president Nick Ashton said: “It is encouraging to see that we are able to keep proving more resources in one of the most mature areas on the Norwegian continental shelf. Now we will work on evaluating the potential for profitable and CO2 efficient recovery.”

The well 30/2-5 S, which will be permanently plugged and abandoned, represents the first exploration well in production licence 878, which was awarded in APA2016. It well was terminated in the Drake Formation from the Early Jurassic Age.

The licensees will consider following up the discovery in an overall assessment of the area.

The West Hercules drilling facility will now drill wildcat wells 35/11-24 S and A in production licence 248 C in the northeastern part of the North Sea.

Equinor Energy operates the production licence 878 are with 60% stake while other partners include Source Energy (20%) and Wellesley Petroleum (20%).

In April 2020, Equinor and its partners have made new oil discovery in the Monument exploration well in the US Gulf of Mexico.