Updated July 1, 2026.
NCS Exploration Drilling Updates – June 30, 2026👏 Since my last update, one appraisal well has concluded drilling operations. Currently, two exploration wildcat wells are being drilled on the NCS👏. Details..⤵️
➡️ Active Wells:
– Well 7220/5-EC-2 H: Wildcat well by Equinor in the Johan Castberg area of the Barents Sea (PL 532). Spud date – June 1 by Transocean Enabler rig. Likely targets – Jurassic / Triassic reservoirs. Partners – Vår Energi, Petoro.👏
– Well 25/7-13: Ongoing wildcat well by Equinor in the South Viking Graben area of the North Sea (PL 782 S). Spud date – May 4 by COSL Innovator rig. Prospect name – “Linga”. Likely targets – Upper Jurassic (Intra-Draupne) reservoirs. Partner – AkerBP.👏
➡️ Drilling Results:
– Well 35/10-16 S: Wellesley Petroleum has concluded appraisal drilling for Carmen discovery well in (PL 1148). The well confirmed pay in Brent Group reservoirs, but the Lower Jurassic Cook FM was wet and the Amundsen FM had no reservoir facies. Revised recoverable resource estimate is now between 21 to 107 million barrels. Partners – DNO, Equinor, AkerBP. The partnership will explore opportunities to develop Carmen as a tieback.👏
– Well 6507/8-D-4 CH: Equinor has concluded the drilling operations for Heidrun Cellar SE prospect. The wildcat well, which is located on the Heidrun field targeted hydrocarbons at deeper stratigraphic levels – in the Early Jurassic Åre Formation and the Late Triassic Grey Beds. The well was dry.
➡️ Highlights / Comments:
– Carmen Appraisal: The recently announced results for the Carmen appraisal well confirmed my predrill analysis and notes about the well’s likely objectives and outcomes. The nature of Carmen prospect trap configuration and the associated structural complexities required multiple appraisal wells to prove extent of pay and hydrocarbon column across faults, including reservoir continuity and connectivity issues. The recently completed second appraisal well found a smaller pay column in Brent Group reservoirs (i.e. limited reservoir facies in Ness FM), the Early Jurassic Cook FM was wet even though it was better developed at the well location, and no reservoir facies in Early Jurassic Amundsen FM. The revised resource estimate (recoverable) is now between 21 and 107 million barrels of oil equivalent (down from the previous estimate of 57 to 290 million barrels). The large drop in the revised estimate is not unassociated with some of the described complexities above, which is also reflected in the large gap in resource estimate after two appraisals. This clearly shows how complex appraisal wells can be sometimes.
– First Half 2026 Exploration Drilling:
- Statistics: 11 wells (10 wildcats, 1 appraisal) resulting in 6 discoveries, 1 confirmed appraisal, and 4 dry holes. Success rate (technical) is 60% without the appraisal well, or 64% with the appraisal well included. Targeted Plays: 6 wells targeted the Jurassic, 4 wells targeted both Jurassic and Triassic, 1 well targeted both Triassic and Basement.👏
- Strategy: The strategy from Year-to-date exploration drilling appears to be (i) ILX-driven with focus on core areas, (ii) follow-up wildcat drilling in areas of recent discoveries, (iii) immediate follow-up drilling of “quick/easy” appraisals when possible.👏
- Implications: Some of the exploration wells with significant implications for nearby prospectivity include – Sissel discovery by Equinor is another significant well for Middle Jurassic prospectivity in the South Viking Graben, after Lofn and Langemann discovery was made in 2025. Other wells include Omega Sør discovery for Brent play opportunities in the Tampen Spur area and Vikingskipet dry well with implications for prospectivity in the Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex area of the Barents Sea.👏
– Deals / Portfolio Renewal: Vår Energi recently entered into a series of transactions / deals with the aim of – “highgrading its portfolio by increasing exposure to core areas and targeting high value opportunities”. Highlights of the deal include – (i) Acquisition of Pandion Energy’s assets. (ii) Swap agreements with DNO in Ringhorne North development and the Gjøa area. (iii) Divestment of equity interest in Goliat and Fenja fields to – “accelerate value creation from recent exploration success”. 👉Read more here.
*Just Breaking* – In another swap deal that’s just breaking today, Vår Energi and Equinor have agreed to asset swap transactions that will see Vår Energi acquiring 32.5% interest and operatorship of the Peon discovery, and enable the development of Peon as a subsea tieback to Gjøa.👏 Like I said in one of my previous posts – “deals like this are a sign of a healthy ecosystem”. It is another great example of how collaboration across portfolios and acreage lines will continue to play a big role on the NCS… to help unlock / create value and ensure industry resiliency.👏 Congrats to Vår Energi and Equinor.👏 👉Read more here.
Note: Some of the transactions above include some of my recommended plays and play areas in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea regions – i.e. Cretaceous Agat/Kyrre plays in the Gjøa area, and Middle to Lower Jurassic Garn FM / Ile FM / Åre FM plays in the Fenja area. 👏 **These are some of the areas with proven plays where I see a lot of opportunities for value creation via farm-ins into licenses or upcoming exploration wildcats. 👉Contact me to learn more.
– Final Investment Decision for Agat Play Discoveries: Vår Energi recently took a Final Investment Decision (FID) on Gjøa Subsea Projects and, together with its partners, submitted Plan for Development and Operations (PDO) for Ofelia and Gjøa Nord discoveries.👏 The Gjøa Subsea Projects will develop three Agat Play discoveries (Ofelia, Gjøa Nord, and Cerisa) as subsea tiebacks to the Gjøa and Duva infrastructure, which includes a total of 76 million barrels of oil equivalent with 27 million barrels of oil equivalent net to Vår Energi.👏 👉Read more here.
Note: The Agat Play is one of my recommended plays for APA 2026 in the North Sea Basin with significant prospectivity, so it’s great to see these three (3) Agat play discoveries being put forward for development.👏
– Permitted and Ready-to-Drill: Some of the upcoming wildcats in the second half of this year that have obtained drilling permits include – Sjöröder prospect, Svarteknippa prospect, Rav Beta prospect, and Alpehumle prospect.👏
As always, contact me for more details on any of the above – recommended plays and play areas, prospect critical work / prospect reviews, identified lead opportunities, potential farm-in candidates, and well predictions on upcoming wildcats –
👉Email – consulting@ytfexploration.com.
👉Website – https://www.ytfexploration.com.
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Tags: NCS, Exploration, North Sea, ILX Exploration,
Featured Image: COSL Innovator Rig (Source – COSL)
