Equinor has made two new discoveries in the North Sea – oil in the Troll area and gas and condensate in the Sleipner area. Both discoveries are considered commercial, partly because they are located in areas with well-developed infrastructure for exporting energy to Europe. The gas discovery at Sleipner is expected to be put into production in April. Equinor said in a press release.
The Byrding C discovery is located five kilometers northwest of the Fram field in the Troll area and is estimated to contain 4–8 million barrels of recoverable oil. The Frida Kahlo discovery was drilled from the Sleipner B platform northwest of the Sleipner Vest field and is estimated to contain 5–9 million barrels of oil equivalent in the form of gas and condensate, and is therefore expected to be ready for extraction as early as April.
- Discoveries close to existing fields such as these are important for maintaining high energy supplies from the Norwegian continental shelf in the future. The oil from Byrding C will be produced using existing or future infrastructure in the area. We are working with our license partners to find good area solutions, says Lill H. Brusdal, senior vice president for exploration and production in the Troll area at Equinor.
Since 2018, Equinor has participated in drilling 26 exploration wells in the expanded Troll area, which also includes Fram. 19 discoveries have been made here, corresponding to a success rate of over 70 percent. In the Sleipner area, the four most recent exploration wells have all proven gas and condensate with total estimated resources of 55–140 million barrels of oil equivalent. The discoveries – Lofn, Langemann, Sissel and Frida Kahlo – were made over a period of three months.
- These discoveries are the result of a focused exploration effort in the Sleipner area. Sleipner is an important hub for gas exports to Europe, and we must do what we can to identify the remaining resources in the area. The discoveries give reason for optimism as we plan to drill three more exploration wells and two new production wells in the area this year, says Cecilie Rønning, senior vice president for exploration and production in the Sleipner area at Equinor.
Several of the discoveries in the Sleipner area are planned to be developed as subsea tie-ins to existing infrastructure with a view to putting them into production within two to three years, while the Frida Kahlo well is expected to be put into operation as early as April.
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