Norway's Equinor and partners OMV and Petoro made an oil discovery in the Sputnik exploration well in the Barents Sea, Equinor announced on Tuesday.
Recoverable resources are preliminarily estimated between 20 and 65 million barrels of oil.
'We are encouraged by this result as it confirms the presence of oil north of the previous Wisting discovery, where Equinor has acquired a strong acreage position,' said Nick Ashton, Equinor’s senior vice president for exploration in Norway and the U.K.
'The geology in the Barents Sea is complex, and more work lies ahead to determine commerciality. But this discovery shows that persistence and our ability to learn from previous well results does pay off,' Ashton said.
Equinor is the license operator with a 55% stake, while partners OMV holds a 25% share and Petoro holds a 20% interest.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr