BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 5. Equinor, along with its partners Okea and Pandion Energy, has discovered gas and condensate in the “Mistral Sør” exploration well in the Halten area of the Norwegian Sea, Trend reports.
Preliminary estimates suggest the discovery holds between 3-7 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent, or 19-44 million barrels.
Grete B. Haaland, Equinor's Senior Vice President for Exploration & Production North, highlighted the significance of the discovery, noting that Norwegian gas plays a key role in Europe’s energy security. She emphasized the ongoing exploration efforts in the region, which have led to multiple discoveries in recent years.
The licensees consider the discovery commercial and are evaluating options for connecting it to existing infrastructure or developing it alongside other nearby discoveries. Mistral Sør is located near Linnorm, the largest undeveloped gas discovery on the Norwegian continental shelf, and the Lavrans field, which is currently under development.
Drilled by the Deepsea Atlantic rig, the well encountered a 45-metre hydrocarbon column in the Garn Formation with good reservoir properties. The well was drilled to a depth of 4024 metres and will be permanently plugged. No hydrocarbons were found in the secondary target formation.