BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 14. Equinor and its
partners Petoro and TotalEnergies have made an oil and gas
discovery near Norway’s Oseberg field in the North Sea, with
recoverable resources preliminarily estimated at 19 million to 50
million barrels of oil equivalent, Equinor said.


The discovery was made in exploration well 30/8-7 S Grimsnes in
production licence PL 190, approximately 20 kilometres south of the
Tune field and 15 kilometres southwest of the Oseberg Sør platform.
The well was drilled by the Deepsea Bergen rig in water depths of
96 metres.


Equinor operates PL 190 with a 50% interest, while Petoro holds
40% and TotalEnergies EP Norge holds 10%. Awarded in 1993, the
licence contains the Tune field, which began production in
2002.


The partnership plans to fast-track development of the discovery
by connecting it to existing subsea infrastructure and producing
the volumes through the Oseberg Sør platform.


“We plan to quickly tie the discovery back to existing subsea
facilities and produce the volumes through the Oseberg Sør
platform. By making use of already paid-for infrastructure, we
achieve good resource utilisation and competitive barrels,” said
Frode Skarstein, Equinor’s senior vice president for Exploration
and Production West.


The Grimsnes discovery is expected to be connected to the
Stjerne subsea installation, which is already tied back to the
Oseberg Sør platform. The platform, located in the North Sea, began
production in 2000 and serves as an integrated drilling,
accommodation and production facility. Oil from the field is
transported through the Oseberg Field Centre and the Oseberg
Transport System to the Sture terminal.







The partners expect to make an investment decision as early as
summer 2027, with production targeted within three years, according
to Equinor.


The development is likely to involve two or three wells
connected through a standard four-slot subsea template. Procurement
of subsea production equipment is planned for early 2027, ahead of
project approval. Equinor said standardized equipment could be
redeployed elsewhere if the development does not receive the
necessary approvals.


The company is seeking to accelerate subsea developments by
simplifying project planning, increasing standardization and
reducing costs and the time between discovery and production.


Norway supplies around 20% of Europe's oil needs and 30% of its
gas needs, according to Equinor. As production from mature fields
declines, continued exploration and the development of smaller
discoveries near existing infrastructure are expected to help
sustain output.


Towards 2035, Equinor plans to drill 200 near-field exploration
wells and deliver around 75 subsea developments. The company aims
to maintain production of 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per
day on the Norwegian continental shelf in 2035, with around 70%
expected to come from new wells and developments.