Equinor and its partners have discovered oil and gas in the Granat prospect in the North Sea, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate announced on Monday.
The discovery was made approximately 190 kilometres northwest of Bergen, near the existing Gullfaks field. The partners—operator Equinor, Petoro, and OMV—are now evaluating the possibility of tying the discovery back to the Gullfaks infrastructure to ensure commercial viability.
Small volumes, strategic value
The preliminary estimates for the discovery place the size between 0.2 and 0.6 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalents. This corresponds to approximately 1.3 to 3.8 million barrels of oil equivalents.
While the volumes are relatively modest, the discovery aligns with Equinor’s broader strategy of “infrastructure-led exploration”. By targeting prospects near existing platforms, the company aims to develop smaller finds that would otherwise be uneconomical. Connecting these resources to established hubs like Gullfaks allows for faster production start-up and extends the operational life of aging fields.
Drilling details and geological context
The discovery was made through the wildcat well 33/12-N-3 HH in production licence 277. This licence was originally awarded in 2002 during the North Sea Awards 2001, and this marks the first exploration well drilled within this specific acreage.
Drilling operations were carried out by the Askeladden rig in water depths of 137 metres. The well encountered a total hydrocarbon column of 240 metres in the Brent Group formations. The reservoirs demonstrated properties ranging from poor to good quality.
Mixed results in campaign
The drilling campaign also included a second exploration well, 33/12-N-3 GH, which targeted a prospect in the adjacent production licence 152. This licence dates back to 1988 (12th licensing round). However, this second well proved to be dry.
Both wells have now been permanently plugged and abandoned. The Norwegian Offshore Directorate (Sokkeldirektoratet) confirmed that extensive data acquisition, including pressure data, was carried out to further understand the area’s geology.
