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Equinor, Aker BP Discover Gas, Condensate in North Sea

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Equinor (EQNR), along with its partner Aker BP (BP), discovered recoverable gas and condensate in the Linga prospect in the North Sea, according to a statement from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate on Monday.

This will be welcome news for Norway after the directorate which oversees the country's hydrocarbons industry warned last week that production would begin to decline in the 2030s unless there was more investment to discover and develop new resources.

The recoverable volume from exploration well 25/7-13 was estimated at between 100,000 standard cubic meters and 2.1 million scm of oil equivalent. This is the third well drilled in production license 782 S, the directorate said.

Vertical depth reached 4.6 kilometers below sea level. The thickness of the sandstone layers in the Draupne Formation where hydrocarbons were discovered totaled 13 meters.

Following the discovery, Equinor-operated wildcat well 34/10-56 S will be drilled using the same drilling rig, COSL Innovator.

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