The Norwegian Barents Sea has been the venue for a continuous campaign of exploration and appraisal over the past year. As shown in Figure 1, to date, there have been six wildcats resulting in an oil discovery (Zagato), three gas discoveries (Elgol, Hassel and Ferdinand), and two dry holes (Venus and Snøras), plus two successful appraisal wells (Countach and Wisting). The commercial drivers are to extend the lives of existing fields, Goliat (operated by Vår Energi), Snøhvit (Equinor) and the recently onstream Johan Castberg (also Equinor), and to determine a decision on the development of Wisting.
The Goliat field began production of an estimated original resource of around 200 mmbl via FPSO in 2016, of which some two-thirds are now exploited; rates have declined from nearly 100,000 bopd to 21,000 bopd, and the search is on for additional reserves for tie-back. Goliat reservoirs are Trias to Lower Jurassic sandstones trapped in a faulted complex at depths of 1,100 – 1,800 m. Well 7122/8-2 (Vår and Equinor, December 2024) successfully appraised the Countach discovery with estimated resources now up to 50 mmbbl contained in the same reservoir formations as Goliat and along strike on the same inverted fault block. The following well 7122/8-3 (December 2024) discovered some 40 mmbbl at Zagato lying between Goliat and Countach. Two further wells and two seismic campaigns are planned in 2025. Figure 2 illustrates the Goliat Ridge structure.
Currently, produced gas at Goliat is reinjected, but long term, the plan is to export gas via the Snohvit facility and pipeline to shore. Following the December 2022 discovery of more than 600bcf in Triassic sandstones at Lupa with well 7122/9-1 (Aker BP and Var, licence 229), the Elgol prospect was drilled by 7122/9-2 in January 2025 (Vår, Petoro, Equinor and Aker BP, licence 1131) but reportedly is a technical discovery only with modest reserves (15-115bcf) and moderate to poor reservoir quality.
Following this partly successful start, the Goliat joint venture plans to continue a modest risk exploration and appraisal campaign of up to four years and 20 wells in total, with a stated aim to increase the gross production to more than 350,000 boepd.
The 560 mmbbl Johan Castberg discovery began production from Triassic and Jurassic sandstone reservoirs via FPSO in March 2025. Here, recent attempts to discover satellites for potential tie-back have failed, with Venus (well 7219/6-1, Vår, Equinor and Petoro, May 2024) and Snøras (7220/2-2, Equinor, Vår & Petoro, June 2024) both dry. The former’s target was in the commercially unproven Palaeocene, with the latter targeting the more familiar Lower Jurassic.
Wisting discovered up to 500 mmbl in the Lower to Middle Jurassic in 2013. Four appraisal wells have now been drilled, including last year’s 7324/7-4 (Equinor, Aker BP, Petoro & Inpex Idemitsu Norway, April 2024). Development plans remain in the balance due to the challenges of an extraordinarily shallow reservoir depth, just 237m below the seabed in water depths of some 400 m, despite which the oil quality shows only limited biodegradation. Interestingly, operator Equinor reported that the information gathered by the appraisal was not only for reservoir but also for the seal.
Close to Wisting there have been two wildcats, both modest gas discoveries of approximately 25bcf at shallow depths, at Hassel and Ferdinand (wells 7324/8-4 and 7324/6-2, Aker BP, Equinor, Petoro & Inpex Idemitsu Norway, May-June 2024). How such gas resources will contribute to the development decision at Wisting is unclear.
Intensive exploration dril-ling continues; NVentures is tracking a further eight “Wells to Watch” in the West Barents Sea, with a further five likely to mature.
