New Oil and Gas Discovery in the North Sea

Equinor has made a discovery 17 kilometres west of the Troll field in the North Sea. The discovery is currently estimated at between 2 and 12 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The discovery consists of both oil and gas. The preliminary name of the discovery is Ringand. This is the second discovery in a short time in the area.

Measured in standard cubic metres, the discovery is estimated at between 0.3 and 2 million Sm3. The discovery will probably not be commercial for development in isolation.

“It’s a small discovery, but in an interesting area that we plan to further explore with much existing infrastructure. If more discoveries are made, it may be relevant to combine these to ensure good resource utilisation and the best possible economy,” said Geir Sørtveit, Equinor’s senior vice president for Exploration & Production West on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

The well was drilled by the Deepsea Atlantic drilling rig.

 

Key facts

• The discovery was made in exploration well 31/1-4 in production licence 923/923B
• The licensees are: Equinor – 60%; DNO Norge – 20%; Petoro – 20%.
• In 2023, Equinor-operated exploration activity on the NCS generated more than 4000 person-years of employment (FTEs).
• Exploration activity is key to maintaining value creation on the NCS.
• Equinor’s field operations, onshore facilities, exploration and development projects generated more than 80,000 person-years of employment (FTEs) in 2023.