Third Arctic oil discovery in a row
The Vår Energy has found oil in the Zagato well in the Barents Sea.
The Norwegian company believes the recoverable resources encountered in the well could be up to 43 million barrels of oil equivalent. The discovery is the third in a row made in the Goliat ridge in the Barents Sea.
The drilling was made with Cosl Prospector, a semisubmersible owned and operated by COSL Drilling Europe. The company is the European branch of Chinese state-owned enterprise China Oilfield Services (COSL).
The discoveries continue to demonstrate the potential of the Goliat ridge, with estimated gross discovered and prospective recoverable resources increased to above 200 mmboe, Vår Energi informs.
The additional resources will allow the company to harmonise field development with the Goliat FPSO, the production unit that has been in operation since 2016.
"Close proximity to existing infrastructure provides opportunity for a fast track, low emission, cost-efficient development utilising available capacity at the Goliat FPSO, adding high value barrels," says COO Torger Rød.
The Zagato discovery is located 8 kilometres northeast of the Goliat FPSO.
Drilling rig Cosl Prospector in December 2024 found up to 52 million barrels of oil equivalents in a Goliat appraisal well.
The drilling is made in cooperation with Equinor. In total, Vår Energi plans to drill around 20 exploration wells in the Barents Sea region over a four-year period. After completing work at Zagato, the Cosl Prospector will be used to drill infill wells at the Goliat field before returning to the Goliat ridge later this year, Vår Energi informs.
Vår Energi is a Norwegian company established in 2018 following a merger between ENI and Point Resources.
