DNO ASA has announced a “significant” discovery of gas and condensates at the Carmen prospect in the Norwegian North Sea license PL1148.
Preliminary evaluation of the complete data, including core and fluid samples, acquired from the discovery well and extended follow-up indicates gross recoverable resources in the range of 120 million to 230 million barrels of oil equivalent on a P90-P10, DNO said in a statement posted on its site.
At 175 million barrels of oil equivalent, the midpoint of that range, Carmen ranks as the largest discovery on the Norwegian continental shelf since 2013, the company said in the statement.
“Norway is the gift that keeps on giving,” DNO chief executive Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani said in a company statement.
“Carmen shows that there are still important discoveries to be made and Norway’s oldest oil company, DNO, will be part of this next chapter in the country’s oil and gas history,” he added.
DNO has a 30 percent stake in the asset. Wellesley Petroleum AS has a 50% stake, and Equinor Energy AS and Aker BP ASA each have a 10% stake. At the time of writing, none of DNO’s active partners have commented on the find. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has also not commented on Carmen at the time of writing.
Previous findings
In its latest statement, DNO highlighted that Carmen is the company’s sixth discovery in the Troll-Gjøa area since 2021 and said it is located close to existing infrastructure “with clear routes to commercialization”.
The other discoveries are Heisenberg, Røver Sør, Ofelia, Kveikje and Røver Nord. DNO confirmed an oil and gas discovery at the Heisenberg prospect in the Norwegian North Sea in March and an oil and gas discovery at the Røver Sør prospect in the Norwegian North Sea in February. Preliminary estimates of gross recoverable resources were in the range of 24-84 million barrels of oil equivalent for the former and 17-47 million barrels of oil equivalent for the latter, DNO noted earlier this year .
In August 2022, DNO confirmed an oil discovery at the Ofelia prospect in the Norwegian North Sea, noting that preliminary estimates of gross recoverable resources were in the range of 16-39 million barrels of oil equivalent. In April last year, DNO announced an oil and gas discovery at the Kveikje prospect in the Norwegian North Sea, noting that preliminary estimates of gross recoverable resources were in the range of 25-50 million barrels of oil equivalent, and in February 2021, DNO. announced the discovery of oil and gas at the Røver Nord prospect in the Norwegian North Sea, revealing that preliminary estimates of gross recoverable resources were in the range of 45-70 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Norwegian exploration activity
In a statement posted on its site on June 30, the NPD highlighted that exploration activity in Norway “has been high so far this year, with 12 wild wells completed, with discoveries made in over half”.
“Authorities expect high exploration activity to continue into the fall. A total of just under 40 wildcat and appraisal wells are expected this year. This means exploration is holding steady at a high level,” the NPD added in the statement.
In that statement, NPD CEO Torgeir Stordal said “most wells are being drilled close to infrastructure, which could generate valuable additional resources for existing fields.”
“At the same time, it is important that companies also drill wells in less explored areas,” he added.
In a statement posted on its site in January, the NDP revealed that 32 exploratory wells were completed last year, “of which 28 were wildcats.”
“They resulted in 11 discoveries. Some of these were smaller than expected, resulting in lower resource growth than in the previous three years,” the NPD said in this statement.
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