New discovery near the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea

Shortly after the Snøfonn North discovery near the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea, Equinor has made another oil and gas discovery in Skavl Stø, exploration well 7220/8-3.
The well was drilled five kilometres south-southeast of discovery well 7220/8-1 on the Johan Castberg field, 210 kilometres northwest of Hammerfest.

Equinor is the operator of production licence 532. The size of the discovery is preliminarily estimated at between 5-10 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. Together with the other licensees, Vår Energi and Petoro, Equinor will consider tying the discovery into the Johan Castberg field.
“The drilling operation was safely and efficiently performed. The new discovery and information will be viewed in the light of other discoveries in the area, and together with our partners we will consider further development of the area,” says Kristin Westvik, Equinor’s senior vice president for exploration and production north.
The news about the Snøfonn North oil discovery was published on 25 May this year, about one year after the Isflak discovery in the same area.
Skavl Stø will be further matured together with Snøfonn North and the previous discoveries Skavl (2014) and Isflak (2021).
The well was drilled by Transocean Enabler.
Skavl Stø is the thirteenth exploration well in the Castberg licence. The production licence was awarded in the 20th licensing round in 2009.

Latest news

Empire receives stop work order from US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Empire Offshore Wind LLC (Empire) is complying with the notice received from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on 22 December, ordering the suspension of ongoing activities on the Outer Continental Shelf citing national security concerns.

Status update for the Snøhvit Future project
Estimates for progress and costs for the Snøhvit Future project have been updated. The project has been postponed compared to the original plan and cost estimates have increased by approximately NOK four billion since 2024.

Equinor contests penalty notice from Økokrim
In May 2021, Equinor Refining Norway AS (“Equinor Mongstad”) was charged with violations of the Pollution Control Act. The case concerns historical matters related to emissions and discharges that the company itself has uncovered, investigated, and improved.