Norwegian oil and gas company Vår Energi has made an oil discovery in the operated Countach appraisal well near the Goliat field in the Barents Sea, confirming the potential to unlock significant additional resources in the Goliat ridge area.
The preliminary estimated gross recoverable resources encountered in the well are between 4 to 25 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), bringing the total estimated recoverable resources in the Countach discovery to 10 to 55 mmboe.
The discovery confirms the potential of the Goliat ridge, where additional gross prospective recoverable resources of over 100 mmboe will be assessed with the planned drilling program in 2025.
The appraisal well was drilled following the Countach discovery of 3 to 13 mmboe announced in 2023, which is located about 13 kilometres northeast of the Goliat FPSO, and the results from the well increase the estimated gross recoverable resources for the discovery to between 10 to 55 mmboe.
In addition to encountering oil in the Kobbe formation with good reservoir quality, an oil column of over 200 metres was encountered in the Klappmyss formation, which despite being of poorer reservoir quality, opens new opportunities in the deeper section of the Goliat ridge.
To assist further development of the Goliat area, Vår Energi is planning to acquire new 3D and 4D seismic during 2025.
Estimated additional gross prospective recoverable resources in the Goliat ridge at the Zagato North, Zagato South and Goliat North prospects are estimated to exceed 100 mmboe.
In comparison, the original plan of development and operations (PDO) for Goliat was based on total expected recoverable reserves of 176 million barrels of oil, underlining the significance of the Goliat ridge opportunity.
“It is very encouraging to discover oil close to the Goliat infrastructure and we are excited about the potential additional opportunities presented in the Goliat ridge. Three more wells are expected to be drilled in 2025, the Zagato North, Zagato South and Goliat North wells, targeting similar opportunities in the Goliat ridge between the Goliat field and the Countach discovery.
“The potential to unlock significant additional resources is considerable, with the opportunity of being turned into high value barrels by utilizing available production capacity at the Goliat facility,” said Torger Rød, Vår Energi COO.
The Barents Sea is believed to hold half of the remaining undiscovered resources on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The Countach appraisal well is the first well of the planned two-year drilling campaign in the Barents Sea, a collaboration effort with Equinor, targeting both infill production and exploration wells.
In total, Vår Energi plans to drill around 20 exploration wells in the Barents Sea region over a four-year period, as part of the company’s plan to sustain production at 350-400 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day long term.
After completing work at Countach, a new exploration well is planned on the Elgol prospect, located 17 kilometres northeast of Goliat.
Vår Energi operates the licence with 65% of interest, while Equinor owns the remaining 35%.
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