Equinor (Equinor), along with its partners Petoro (Petoro) and TotalEnergies (TotalEnergies), has planned to quickly convert the new oil and gas discovery in the North Sea into oil products. These companies will utilize existing infrastructure in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) with the aim of reducing development time to three years.
Details of the oil field discovery
This discovery was made in the exploratory well 30/8-7 S, known as the Grimsnes prospect, and contains between 19 to 50 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent (boe). This well was drilled in the production license PL 190 and is located approximately 15 kilometers southwest of the Oseberg Sør platform and 145 kilometers west of Bergen.
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The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3,752 meters below sea level and terminated in the Drake Formation during the Lower Jurassic period. Based on extensive data collected and samples obtained, well 30/8-7 S is the fifth exploratory well drilled in production license 190.
Rapid development and utilization of infrastructure
Equinor emphasizes that Norwegian oil and gas are essential for Europe's energy security, as Norway supplies 20% of Europe's oil needs and 30% of its gas needs. Given the declining production from existing fields, Equinor plans to maintain production by drilling 200 exploratory wells nearby and providing around 75 subsea developments by 2035.
Freud Skarstein, Senior Vice President of Exploration and Production West at Equinor, has stated: "This discovery shows that the area around the Oseberg fields remains attractive. We intend to quickly connect this discovery to existing infrastructure and produce volumes through the Oseberg Sør platform."
Equinor has also noted that in order to reduce costs and time from discovery to production, it is seeking simpler and faster processes. The company plans to make a decision on continuing the Grimsnes project by next summer and to start production within three years.
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