Harbour Energy has made a gas and condensate discovery in the Norwegian section of the North Sea, which could be tied back to existing infrastructure, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate said on Friday.
Harbour Energy, as operator of the license, and its partners have proven gas condensate in the ‘Camilla Nord’ prospect, the regulator said, adding that preliminary estimates indicate the size of the discovery is between 2.2 million and 4.7 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Wildcat wells 35/8-8 S and A were drilled in production licenses 248 LS and 248 B, which are part of the Vega Unit in the North Sea, 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Florø.
The licensees will now consider tying the discovery back to existing infrastructure on the Vega field.
Harbour Energy operates the Vega field, which began production in 2010. The well stream from Vega is sent to the Gjøa field for processing. Oil and condensate are transported from Gjøa to the Troll Oil Pipeline II for further transport to the Mongstad terminal. The rich gas is exported to the Far North Liquids and Associated Gas System on the British continental shelf for further transport to St Fergus in the UK.
However, output at Vega is now on the decline.
In recent years, operators offshore Norway have stepped up exploration of prospects near operational fields to take advantage of the existing infrastructure to raise oil and gas production via tie-backs and with smaller capital expenditure.
Earlier this month, the top independent operator offshore Norway, Vår Energi, confirmed an oil discovery very close to its Goliat field in the Barents Sea, the first operating Arctic oilfield offshore Norway. The discovery boosts the overall gross discovered resources at the so-called Goliat Ridge and could be tied back to the nearby Goliat floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit.
Energy major Equinor has recently announced an oil discovery and a separate gas discovery close to its Johan Castberg oilfield in the Barents Sea and will assess potential tie-ins to the Arctic field which started up earlier this year.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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