Norway’s Vår Energi and its partner Equinor have made an oil discovery in production licence 229 (PL299) in the Barents Sea, following the drilling of the wildcat well 7122/8-1 S.
The well, which was drilled in one of the segments that form the Countach prospect, is located approximately 13km northeast of the Goliat field in the southern part of the Barents Sea.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Following drilling, using the Transocean Enabler drilling facility to a measured depth of 2958m, the wildcat well 7122/8-1S intersected oil in the Realgrunnen and Kobbe formations.
As per the preliminary estimates, the discovery’s size ranges between 0.5 and 2.1 million standard cubic metres (sm³) of recoverable oil equivalent.
The Norwegian oil and gas company estimates that the Countach prospect holds up to 3.7 million sm³, or 23 million barrels of total recoverable oil equivalents, in the undrilled segments.
Vår Energi plans to permanently plug and abandon the 7122/8-1S well. It will assess the drilling of an appraisal well in the future.
The company operates the PL229 with a 65% stake. Equinor holds the remaining stake of 35%.
Vår Energi exploration and production EVP Rune Oldervoll said that the company will consider the possible commercial development options and the tie-in of the Countach discovery to the Goliat floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) facility.
Oldervoll said: “Countach reinforces the company’s position as the leading exploration company on the Norwegian shelf. This discovery is yet another in a series of successful exploration wells in the Barents Sea in recent years, including Lupa, the largest discovery on the Norwegian shelf in 2022.
“At the same time, the discovery confirms our exploration strategy and our position in the area. We will consider potential.”
