Equinor hits hydrocarbons in North Sea wildcat wells

Equinor has hit hydrocarbon pockets in the North Sea, with wildcat drilling wells striking both gas and condensate in the Sleipner area off Norway’s coast.

The finds are Equinor’s largest so far this year, and the company said the discoveries can be developed for the European market using existing infrastructure.

Preliminary estimates indicate the reservoirs may contain between 5M-18M standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalents, corresponding to 30M-110M barrels, Equinor said.

“The Sleipner area is an important hub for Norwegian gas exports to Europe. These discoveries strengthen our optimism for further exploration in the area. Together with our partners, we are committed to drill five additional exploration wells going forward. Adding new volumes is essential to maintain export capacity and value creation from the area,” Equinor executive vice president for exploration and production Norway, Kjetil Hove said.

The two wells, Lofn and Langemann in production licence 1140, are located between the Gudrun and Eirin fields. Licence holders are Equinor Energy AS (60%) and Aker BP ASA (40%).

The production licence was awarded to Equinor in 2022 through the awards in predefined areas. The drilling targets were identified using ocean bottom node seismic technology, where sensors are placed on the seabed to provide more precise geological data than traditional surface seismic readings.

According to Mr Hove, the discovery is indicative of the viability of the North Sea’s energy reserves.

“This demonstrates the importance of maintaining exploration activity on the Norwegian continental shelf. There are still significant energy resources on the shelf, and Europe needs stable oil and gas deliveries. Discoveries near existing fields can be developed quickly through subsea facilities, with limited environmental impact, very low CO2 emissions from production, and strong profitability," he said.

Equinor plans to accelerate the search for similar hydrocarbon prospects on the Norwegian continental shelf, according to Mr Hove.