More oil discovered near Snorre (34/4-19 S)
The well was drilled using the Deepsea Atlantic rig. (Photo: Odfjell Drilling)
3/2/2026 Equinor and its partners have discovered oil on the “Omega Sør Alfa” prospect in the North Sea, around 200 kilometres northwest of Bergen.
Exploration well 34/4-19 S was drilled in production licence 057, which was awarded in the fourth licensing round on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) in 1979. This exploration wellbore is the 14th to be drilled in the production licence.
Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 4-14.2 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent (o.e.). This corresponds to 25 – 89 million barrels of recoverable o.e. The licensees will consider tying the discovery back to existing infrastructure in the Tampen area.
The licensees in production licence 057 are Equinor (operator), Petoro, Harbour Energy, INPEX Idemitsu and Vår Energi.
The well was drilled using the Deepsea Atlantic rig.
Geological information
The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks in the Brent Group.
Well 34/4-19 encountered oil in sandstone layers with a total thickness of 224.5 metres, 127 metres of which were sandstone layers with moderate to good reservoir properties. The oil/water contact was not encountered.
The well was not formation-tested, but extensive data acquisition and sampling were carried out.
Well 34/4-19 was drilled to respective vertical and measured depths of 3872 and 4090 metres below sea level, and was terminated in the Drake Formation in the Middle Jurassic.
Water depth at the site is 381 metres. The well will be temporarily plugged and abandoned.
Updated: 3/2/2026