UK's Harbour Energy makes gas discovery in Norwegian Sea

Britain's Harbour Energy has made a gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea, some 270 kilometres north of Kristiansund off the coast of western Norway, the country's offshore directorate said on Tuesday.

Preliminary estimates indicated a gas find of 17-39 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in the Sabina prospect, while drilling also confirmed the size of the Adriana prospect at 28-43 million boe, the directorate said in a statement.

The discovery was made by the former Norwegian unit of Wintershall Dea, which was taken over by Harbour Energy in September as part of a wider $11.2 billion asset deal.

Harbour Energy is the operator and owns 38.08 per cent of the permit while Norwegian state-owned oil firm Petoro holds 35 per cent, Aker BP 15 per cent and Poland's Orlen the remaining 11.92 per cent.

The owners will consider whether the discoveries can be tied back to existing infrastructure in the area, the offshore directorate added.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen; editing by Terje Solsvik and Jason Neely)