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Oil and gas on the NCS moving forward

Oil and gas on the NCS moving forward

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY HAS CONTRIBUTED TO A GOOD EXPLORATION YEAR

The exploration result in 2025 was among the best in several years, but future value creation for the broader society will require more exploration and work to develop discoveries that have already been made. There are still substantial remaining oil and gas resources.

Read about:  

• What will it take to realise the resources? 
• Exploration 
• New technology for tight reservoirs 

What will it take to realise the resources?

In 2024, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate developed three potential scenarios for the overall production of oil and gas leading up to 2050. These were updated and presented at Sokkelkonferansen in 2025. 

All three potential scenarios reflect declining production in the years to come. In order to slow this decline, exploration will need to take place close to infrastructure and in more frontier areas, in addition to making more investments in fields, discoveries and infrastructure. Failure to invest will lead to rapid dismantling of the petroleum activities. 

There are still substantial resources in place on the NCS, but more exploration and more work will be needed to develop the discoveries that have already been made. Most discoveries are developed via existing infrastructure.  

Increased knowledge, better cooperation between players, data sharing and new technology provide a basis for new discoveries, quicker development and improved recovery in future years. This will be dependent on a continued willingness and ability to invest among licensees on the NCS. 

In December, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate published the report "An evolving player landscape". This study presents new company categories and development trends for activity and resource growth distributed across these new company categories. The report is the first phase of a larger study. Further efforts will be presented in a new resource report we are planning to publish in 2026. 

It has been a good exploration year  

This has been the best exploration year on the NCS in ten years, with the exception of 2021. Many discoveries were made, some of which were significant. In volume (oil equivalent), these discoveries amount to the best resource growth in several years. A number of these discoveries are the result of utilising new and advanced technology. 

49 exploration wells were terminated, 40 of which were wildcat wells, and 21 new discoveries were made. The preliminary overall estimate for these discoveries is 67 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalent (424 million barrels of o.e.). This amounts to a resource growth that is higher than the previous year. More than twice as much liquid was discovered, as compared with gas. 

Discovery volumes between 2016 and 2025. 

The largest discoveries in 2025: 

• The Omega Alfa exploration campaign: oil discovery in four wellbores in the area around Yggdrasil in the North Sea. 
• The Lofn/Langemann prospect: two gas/condensate discoveries in the North Sea. 
• The Kjøttkake prospect: Oil and gas discovery in the North Sea. 

2025 was also marked by technological milestones. Two very long wellbores were drilled: 

Aker BP set a new record in the Omega Alfa exploration campaign in the Yggdrasil area. This is the longest exploration wellbore (24/1-14 C) ever drilled on the NCS, measuring 10.7 kilometres. 

OKEA drilled the Talisker (31/4-A-15 B) exploration well on the Brage field in the North Sea with a measured length of 10.2 kilometres. This is one of the longest exploration wells on the NCS. 

These record-long exploration wells show how advanced drilling technology provides increased flexibility in exploration, and the opportunity to test multiple targets in a single well. 

This figure shows exploration results for 2025. (These are the volumes reported in press releases over the course of the year). *The estimated resources are the overall result of four discoveries in the Omega Alfa exploration campaign. 

The map under shows where the discoveries were made on the shelf. Update 3 July 2026: The figure for Tallisker is incorrect. The correct range is 2.4–5.21 MSm³ oe, with an average of 3.9 MSm³ oe.

In 2026, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate expects a total of about 40 exploration wells, where 28–32 will be in the North Sea, 4–6 in the Norwegian Sea and 4–6 in the Barents Sea. 

At the end of 2025, there were 91 discoveries still awaiting a potential development decision. They comprise certain larger discoveries and several minor ones in all ocean areas on the shelf. The North Sea has the most discoveries.

This table shows a summary of discoveries made in 2025. (These are the volumes reported in press releases over the course of the year. *The estimated resources are the overall result of four discoveries in the Omega Alfa exploration campaign. 

New technology for tight reservoirs 

Continuous technology development in the oil and gas industry is a necessary contribution towards generating the greatest possible value for society. This is why the Norwegian Offshore Directorate must be a driving force for developing new technology, including digitalisation, throughout the value chain. 

Over the last two years, we have had a particular focus on improving recovery in tight reservoirs (Norwegian only) on the NCS. 

Effective production of large volumes of oil and gas from tight reservoirs will require both new technology and cost reductions. Such solutions have already been utilised on a large scale in other countries. Close cooperation between the players will be crucial to succeed in implementation on the NCS. This also frequently involves time-critical resources, which must be quickly tied back to existing installations to ensure profitable extraction. 

The following is a selection of technologies relevant for tight reservoirs: 

Dynamic fracturing: This method involves fracturing the reservoir rock and keeping the fractures open by filling them with sand. This makes it easier for oil and gas to flow into the well, and increases the production potential. 

Low-cost drilling: This is a method to drill wells that uses a continuous length of flexible pipe spooled off a drum. The technology is effective in lowering drilling costs and can achieve profitability in smaller deposits. 

CAJ technology (Controlled Acid Jetting): Technology developed specifically to increase productivity in long horizontal wells where traditional methods have a limited range. 

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has organised an annual Technology Day over the last four years. This is primarily aimed at licensees on the NCS. The objective is to share experience from implementing new technology, in line with our tec

Download: Background data (Excel)

Updated: 1/8/2026