The Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has confirmed that Equinor and partner INPEX Idemitsu made an oil discovery at the "Byrding C" prospect in the North Sea, following the drilling of wildcat well 35/11-32 S.
The well is situated within production licence 090 HS, approximately five kilometres northwest of the Fram field and about 97 kilometres southwest of Florø.
Preliminary estimates from Equinor indicate the size of the find ranges between 0.7 and 1.3 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalent. This volume corresponds to between 4.4 and 8.2 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.
The COSL Innovator drilling rig was used to reach a vertical depth of 3,517 metres below sea level, where it terminated in the middle jurassic heather formation. Operations occurred in a water depth of 373 metres, and NOD confirmed the well has since been permanently plugged and abandoned.
Geologists identified a 22-metre oil column within sandstone layers of the Sognefjord Formation, which featured a total thickness of 82 metres. Approximately 70 metres of this formation consisted of sandstone with "moderate to good reservoir properties".
It was noted that the secondary exploration target in the Fensfjord Formation did not prove reservoir rocks or hydrocarbons. Despite this, extensive volumes of data and samples were successfully collected during the drilling programme.
The licensees are considering tying the discovery back to existing or future infrastructure in the area. This operation represented the first exploration well in production licence 090 HS since the licence was awarded on April 9, 2013, during the eighth licensing round.