Best year for discoveries on NCS since 2014

Equinor (45%) and partners ExxonMobil (25%), Idemitsu (15%) and Neptune (15%) have discovered oil and gas in exploration well Echino South, 35/11-23, by the Fram field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Recoverable resources are estimated at 38–100mn boe.

‘We are making one of this year’s biggest discoveries in the most mature area of the NCS, not far from the Troll field. This demonstrates the opportunities that still exist for value creation and revenue from this industry,’ says Nick Ashton, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Exploration in Norway and the UK. ‘After more than 50 years of geological surveys on the NCS, we are still learning something new and finding hydrocarbons where we previously thought there were none. By utilising existing infrastructure, these resources may be recovered at good profitability and with low CO₂ intensity.’

Commenting on the discovery, Senior Analyst Palzor Shenga at Rystad Energy, says: ‘After a string of recent discoveries, 2019 is shaping up to be the most successful exploration year since 2014 on the NCS.’ The consultancy estimates the discovery brings cumulative discoveries year-to-date to 520mn boe, surpassing the 518mn boe found in 2018.

‘Norway could see total discoveries reaching 650mn boe by year-end with decent success in ongoing exploration drilling campaigns,’ Shenga adds.

Aker BP has been the most successful driller thus far in 2019, with 41% of discovered volumes. Equinor comes in second, with 23% of total volumes. Lundin, Vaar Energi, and Wellesley Petroleum share the final place on the podium with 4% each, reports Rystad Energy.

‘While the Barents Sea has been Norway’s most successful area in the past seven years in terms of total volumes discovered, the number of discoveries and the volumes found prove that the mature parts of the NCS still have a lot to offer. The proximity of these discoveries to existing infrastructure makes them lucrative,’ notes Shenga.

Figure 1: Conventional discovered resources in Norway, 2014–2019, in mn boe
Source: Rystad Energy