Equinor drilling the exploration well 34/4-19 S in production licence PL 057 has identified the Omega South oil accumulation in the Norwegian North Sea’s Snorre area, estimating between 25 and 89 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. The well was drilled by the Deepsea Atlantic rig at a water depth of 381 meters, located 1.6 kilometers east of the existing Snorre field infrastructure.

The partnership, led by Equinor (31%) alongside Petoro (30%), Harbour Energy Norge (24.5%), INPEX Idemitsu Norge (9.6%) and Vår Energi (4.9%), intends to reuse the existing subsea foundation and parts of the exploration well to tie Omega South into the Snorre A platform. This approach is expected to cut development costs significantly and enable first oil within two to three years of discovery.

Omega South underscores Equinor’s strategy of near-field exploration to extend mature field lifespans and access competitive barrels with paid-off infrastructure. Maintaining about 1.2 million barrels per day from the Norwegian Continental Shelf by 2035 will rely on at least 70% new wells and developments, reinforcing Norway’s role supplying around 20% of Europe’s oil demand and 30% of its gas.