Sept. 24, 2025. (**Updated) – NCS Exploration Drilling Updates – Sept. 24, 2025👏 Currently, five (5) exploration wells are being drilled on the NCS👏. Details..⤵️
– Well 30/11-16 S: Wildcat well by AkerBP in the North Sea (PL 873). Initial spud date- 30 April by Deepsea Stavanger rig. Prospect name – “Natrudstilen”. Targets – Paleocene / Eocene reservoirs. Prospect is located to the northeast of the recent Omega/Alfa discoveries by AkerBP. Partners – Equinor ASA and Orlen Upstream Norway 👏
– Well 34/6-9 S: Wildcat well by Equinor in the Northern North Sea (PL 554). Spud date- 17 Sept by COSL Innovator rig. Prospect name – “Avbitertang”. Likely targets – Jurassic reservoirs. Trap – Structural – upthrown trap. Partner – VårEnergi, AkerBP.👏
– Well 6407/1-B-2 H: Wildcat well by Equinor in the Norwegian Sea (PL 1121). Spud date- 16 Sept by Transocean Encourage rig. Prospect name – “Tyrihans Øst”. Likely targets – Middle – Lower Jurassic reservoirs. Partners- Vår Energi, DNO Norge. **Well sits in the Middle Jurassic play fairway, with several Garn Formation discoveries.👏
– Well 2/6-8 S: Wildcat well by DNO Norge AS in the Central Graben – Sogne Basin (PL 1086). The wildcat well (“Page” prospect) is located south of the recent “Othello” discovery. Spud date – Sept 1 by Noble Intrepid rig. Likely Targets – Creataceous and Paleocene reservoirs. Upper Jurassic target may also be possible. Trap – structural or combination trap. Partners- Petoro, AkerBP, Source Energy.👏.. **Central Graben Shallow plays (Cretaceous/ Paleocene/ Eocene) represent an area of opportunity with significant Yet-To-Find (YTF) resources on the NCS (watch my blog section for an upcoming report on this👏) …so it’s good to see more targets being selected for drilling in this underexplored play.👏
– Well 15/5-8 S: Wildcat well by Equinor in the North Sea (PL 1140). Spud date- Jul 18 by Deepsea Atlantic. Prospect name – “Lofn/Langemann”. Likely targets – Upper to Middle Jurassic reservoirs. Partner – AkerBP.👏
– Well 31/4-A-15 C: This is a followup appraisal of the recent discovery well (31/4-A-15 B) by OKEA and partners in the North Sea (PL 055). Spud date – 8 Sept.👏
➡️ Drilling Results –
– Well 6506/12-PB-3 H: Equinor and partners have concluded (29-Aug) the drilling of “Smørbukk Midt” prospect in the Norwegian Sea (PL 094), resulting in oil and gas condensate discovery in Middle Jurassic Garn Formation reservoirs.👏
– Well 35/11-31 S: Equinor and partners have concluded (20-Aug) the drilling of “F-South” prospect in the North Sea (PL 090),..with oil and gas discovery in Jurassic reservoirs.👏
– Well 31/4-A-15 B: OKEA and partners have concluded (7-Sept) the drilling of Well-34/4-A-15 B in the North Sea (PL 055),.. with oil discovery in Jurassic reservoirs.👏
– Well 6406/11-2 S: Vår Energi and partners have concluded (31-July) drilling of Vidsyn prospect in the Norwegian Sea (PL 586),.. with gas / condensate discovery in Jurassic reservoirs.👏
– Well 25/1-14 A, B, C, D, E, F, G: AkerBP and partners (Equinor, Orlen) have concluded (21-Aug) drilling of Omega/Alfa/Sigma prospects in the North Sea (PL-873/873B/1249),.. with oil and gas discoveries in Eocene Frigg Formation.👏
– Well 7117/4-1: Equinor and partners have concluded (5-Sept) drilling of “Deimos” prospect in the Western Barents Sea area (PL 1238). The well was dry.
– 34/8-20 S: Equinor and partners (Vår, AkerBP) have concluded (15-Sept) the drilling of “Narvi Nord” prospect in the Northern North Sea (PL 554 E). The well was dry.
➡️ YTD Summary – It’s been a busy year for exploration on the shelf👏.
– Current YTD technical success rate for 2025 exploration drilling on the NCS is about 50%.. with about 30 wildcats completed in 2025 (appraisals not included). 👏
– Another Successful APA Round! – as APA 2025 confirmed the continued high interest in exploration on the NCS… with the participation of 20 companies.👏
– Numbered Licensing Round is back!! – Initial consultation / call for block nominations is now underway for the 26th Licensing Round👏
– Exciting discoveries have been made across the 3 main regions of the NCS.. (1) “Kjottkake” discovery in the North Sea confirms the huge potential in shallow injectites plays on the NCS👏. (2) Recent “Omega/Alfa” discoveries also point to the significant remaining potential for shallow plays in the North Sea👏. (3) “Zagato” discovery was well received as the Goliat Ridge continues to deliver more and more resources in the Barents Sea👏. (4) “Mistral Sør” and “Smørbukk Midt” discoveries in Norwegian Sea confirmed the potential in the Jurassic Garn Formation play👏
➡️ Contact me for more details on any of the above – Leads and Play Maps, Highgraded Play areas, Prospect reviews, support for the 26th Licensing Round, support for well planning, well predictions – consulting@ytfexploration.com.
#NCS #Exploration
Featured Image: Deepsea Yantai Rig …photo by Odfjell Drilling.
