Norway’s Equinor and its partners Vaar Energi and Petoro have announced a new oil discovery in the Norwegian sector of the Arctic Barents Sea, Reuters reported, citing the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.

The discovery is located around 16 Kilometers (km) from the Johan Castberg field, one of Norway’s key offshore developments in the region.

Preliminary estimates indicate the discovery holds between 14 million and 24 million barrels (mmbbl) of recoverable oil, the regulator said.

The discovery is expected to support ongoing exploration efforts in the Barents Sea, an area seen as a key frontier for Norway’s future oil and gas production.

Equinor has built a strong presence in the Barents Sea through developments such as the Snøhvit field and the Goliat field, in addition to advancing the Johan Castberg field as a future production hub.