New Oil Discovery Made in Norwegian Sea

Wintershall Dea revealed Tuesday that it has made an oil discovery at the Bergknapp prospect in the Norwegian Sea.

Wildcat well 6406/3-10, which was drilled by the Scarabeo 8 drilling rig, encountered an oil column of “at least” 196 feet in the Garn Formation and an oil column of “at least” 393 feet in the Tilje Formation, the company highlighted.

Initial recoverable resource estimates put the discovery at between 26 and 97 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to Wintershall Dea, which outlined that the license partnership will now initiate studies, investigate potential appraisal measures and development options for the discovery.

“This exciting discovery near existing infrastructure confirms the untapped potential of Norway as a core area for exploration, development and production now and in the future,” Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Dea chief technology officer and the company’s executive board member for global exploration, said in a company statement.

“As a global company, Wintershall Dea is committed to Norway and to developing new fields like the Bergknapp discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” he added.

Wintershall Dea, which describes itself as Europe’s leading independent oil and gas company, is the operator of the discovery in PL 836S with a 40 percent stake. Spirit Energy Norway AS holds a 30 percent interest and DNO Norge AS holds the remaining 30 percent share.

According to its website, Wintershall Dea has been active on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for more than 45 years and is now one of the leading oil and gas companies there. The company also has operations in several other countries, including Egypt, Russia and Mexico.

Wintershall’s latest discovery announcement is one of several made in the industry this month. On April 6, Equinor revealed that it had encountered oil in the Monument exploration well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. On the same day, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate outlined that AkerBP had made a minor gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea and on April 2 Apache Corporation announced a “significant” oil discovery offshore Suriname.

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