Equinor announced a gas and condensate discovery in the Mistral Sør exploration well located in the Halten area in the Southern part of the Norwegian Sea, with preliminary estimates of 3-7 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent (19-44 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.
Mistral Sør was drilled to a water depth of 256 meters by the Deepsea Atlantic, Odfjell Drilling rig in production license 1119. The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic sandstone in the Garn Formation, with a secondary target in the Ile Formation, Equinor said.
“Norwegian gas is in high demand and is crucial to Europe’s energy security. That’s why it’s important for us to continue exploring and making new discoveries so we can maintain a high level of deliveries,” said Grete B. Haaland, Equinor’s senior vice president for Exploration & Production North.
“This discovery was made in an area where the gas infrastructure is already in place, and which we’re also continuing to develop. We have active exploration efforts under way in this area, which have resulted in several discoveries in recent years,” she added.
Operated by Equinor (50%) in partnership with Okea (30%) and Pandion Energy (20%), the was deemed commercial and will be tied back to existing infrastructure or development together with other discoveries in the area.
The discovery was made in the Åsgard and Kristin area in the Norwegian Sea. Besides, Mistral Sør is situated just a short distance north of Linnorm, the largest gas discovery on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) that has yet to be developed. Equinor took over the operatorship for Linnorm in 2023. A discovery was also made in 2024 in the Lavrans field. Lavrans is currently being developed with a tie-back to the Kristin Sør field.
Mistral is a candidate for quick development via a tieback to Equinor’s ongoing Lavrans subsea development, DNO said in a separate statement.
“Given the good reservoir properties, the discovery likely allows for simplified development solutions,” DNO said.
