Vår Energi confirms major gas discovery at Vidsyn, targeting rapid development using existing infrastructure near the Fenja field.
Norwegian oil and gas company Vår Energi, in partnership with DNO Norge and Sval Energi, has confirmed a significant new gas and condensate discovery at the Vidsyn prospect in the Norwegian Sea. The discovery was made through the drilling of wildcat well 6406/11-2 S within production licence 586, situated around 8 kilometers west of the Fenja field, which is operated by Vår Energi. The licence, awarded in 2011, has now seen the completion of eight exploration wells.
The Deepsea Yantai rig was employed for the drilling operation. Early assessments indicate that the Vidsyn find contains between 25 and 40 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe) in recoverable reserves, with potential gross resources reaching up to 100 mboe. This discovery will undergo further appraisal to better understand its extent and facilitate swift development.
Vår Energi holds a 75% operating interest in the licence, with Sval Energi owning 17.5% and DNO Norge, a fully owned subsidiary of DNO, holding the remaining 7.5%. The partners are now considering integrating this new find with nearby exploration prospects to maximize value creation through the use of existing production infrastructure, in which Vår Energi has substantial equity and operational control.
Luca Dragonetti, Senior Vice President of Exploration at Vår Energi, remarked, “Vidsyn is a promising discovery that taps into a larger resource base along the ridge near our Fenja operations. It adds high-value barrels that can be developed efficiently using infrastructure already in place. This outcome validates our selective and disciplined exploration strategy, which is centered around proximity to existing assets and infrastructure.”
The exploration campaign specifically targeted hydrocarbons in the lower-to-middle Jurassic Ile Formation of the Fangst Group and aimed to assess additional petroleum potential in the lower Jurassic Tilje and Tofte Formations of the Båt Group. The well reached a vertical depth of 3,857 meters below sea level, concluding in the Late Triassic-age Åre Formation. The water depth at the site was approximately 310 meters.
Drilling results revealed a gas/condensate column approximately 110 meters thick within a 145-meter sandstone interval in the Ile Formation, which exhibited moderate to good reservoir qualities. The hydrocarbon-water contact was observed at a depth of 3,513 meters below sea level, with the total reservoir column exceeding 210 meters. However, the secondary targets in the Tilje and Tofte formations only yielded water-bearing sandstone layers.
DNO Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani commented, “Vidsyn is another exciting addition to our string of discoveries in Norway. Alongside Vår Energi, we are committed to bringing it into production faster than what’s typical in the region.”
Earlier this year, Vår Energi also announced a separate oil discovery at the Zagato exploration well near the Goliat field in the Barents Sea, further expanding its exploration success in Norwegian waters.
