Norwegian oil and gas operator DNO and its partners have made an oil and gas discovery in the Kjottkake prospect in the North Sea, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate said on Friday.
The wells were drilled using the Deepsea Yantai exploration rig. The gas/oil contact was encountered at 1,857 metres below sea level, and the oil/water contact was encountered at 1,898 metres below sea level.
The authority said preliminary calculations indicate that the discovery holds recoverable reserves of between 38.4 and 74.2 million barrels of oil equivalent.
"The licensees will consider a potential development and further follow-up of the discovery alongside other discoveries and prospects in the vicinity," it said in a statement.
DNO holds a 40 per cent stake in the exploration permit while Aker BP holds 30 per cent and Japex Norway and Concedo each hold 15 per cent.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Stine Jacobsen)