Equinor as operator and partners Vår Energi and Aker BP have struck oil at the Garantiana West prospect in production licence 554. Recoverable resources are estimated at 8-23 million barrels of oil equivalent.
The well was drilled about 10 kilometres northeast of the Visund field in the northern North Sea and 120 kilometres west of Florø. The primary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Early Jurassic Age (the Cook Formation). The secondary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Early Jurassic Age (the Nansen Formation). Well 34/6-5 S encountered an 86-metre oil column in the Cook Formation, of which about 60 metres are sandstones with moderate to good reservoir quality. It is estimated that the oil/water contact lies somewhere between 3672 and 3674 metres below sea level. The well encountered water-bearing sandstones in the Nansen Formation.
Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 8-23 Mbbl recoverable resources. Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out, and a successful formation test has been performed. The licensees will consider developing the discovery through a tie-in to the planned development of the Garantiana oil discovery.
Vår Energi holds 30% of the license, with Equinor (operator, 40%) and Aker BP (30%) as partners.
