Equinor has announced an oil discovery at the Othello South prospect near its Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea, confirming the presence of hydrocarbons in a wildcat well drilled in production licence 124 B.
Preliminary estimates indicate recoverable resources between 0.15 and 2 million standard cubic metres (mscm) of oil equivalent, equivalent to 0.95–12.6 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe).
The wildcat well 6507/8-12 S targeted reservoir rocks in the Early Jurassic Åre Formation and Late Triassic ‘Grey Beds’, encountering multiple oil-bearing sandstone layers totalling 208 metres thick.
An oil column of about 14 metres was proven in the upper Åre Formation, featuring sandstones with good-to-very good reservoir quality, while deeper sections revealed oil-bearing sands of poorer quality, offering potential upside.
No oil/water contact was detected, and although formation testing was skipped, extensive data acquisition and sampling occurred before the well reached 2,477 metres vertically below sea level in Triassic Red Beds.
Drilled by the Cosl Innovator rig in 374 metres of water, the site lies four kilometres north of Heidrun and 240 kilometres west of Sandnessjøen.
The well will be permanently plugged and abandoned, with the rig shifting to production licence 1014 to drill 6610/7-U-3 for shallow gas verification.
This marks the first exploration well in PL 124 B, carved from PL 124 on 30 September 2024 and valid until 2045, following nine prior wells in the parent licence.
Equinor operates with 25.7 per cent interest, alongside Petoro (36.4 per cent), ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (27.91 per cent) and Vår Energi (10 per cent).
The discovery prompts evaluation of development options for Heidrun’s northern section, a mature field in Haltenbanken discovered in 1985, producing since 1995 at 350 metres water depth, 30 kilometres northeast of Åsgard.
This find follows Equinor and Aker BP’s December hydrocarbons discovery at Lofn (3.5–10 mscm or 22–63 mboe) and Langemann in the Sleipner area.