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Equinor announced on Friday two gas and condensate discoveries in the Norwegian part of the North Sea in its largest discoveries so far this year that can be developed through existing infrastructure.
Equinor made the discoveries in the Lofn and Langemann wells in the Sleipner area of the North Sea, in a license located between the operating Gudrun and Eirin fields.
Preliminary estimates indicate the reservoirs may contain between 30 and 110 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents.
“The Sleipner area is an important hub for Norwegian gas exports to Europe. These discoveries strengthen our optimism for further exploration in the area,” said Kjetil Hove, executive vice president for Exploration & Production Norway at Equinor.
Equinor and its partners in the licenses plan to drill five additional exploration wells, Hove added, noting that “adding new volumes is essential to maintain export capacity and value creation from the area.”
Discoveries near existing fields can be developed quickly through subsea facilities, with limited environmental impact, very low CO2 emissions from production, and strong profitability, Hove said.
Equinor and other operators on the Norwegian Continental Shelf are exploring prospects near operational fields to take advantage of the existing infrastructure to raise oil and gas production via tie-backs and tie-ins, which are cheaper than investing in standalone developments.
Earlier this week, Vår Energi confirmed an oil discovery very close to its Goliat field in the Barents Sea, the first operating Arctic oilfield offshore Norway.
Norway has been boosting its gas production since 2022 when it overtook Russia as Europe’s top gas supplier. Not a member of the EU, but a NATO founding member and key EU and UK ally, Norway looks to continue providing the gas Europe needs.
Companies operating offshore Norway are raising production of gas and oil, with the support of the Norwegian government, which continues to bet on the oil and gas industry and the massive revenues it raises for the country and its sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest.
