Equinor Finds 4–8m Barrel Oil at Troll and 5–9mboe Gas at Sleipner
Equinor’s Byrding C well in the Troll area holds an estimated four to eight million barrels of recoverable oil, drilled by the COSL Innovator rig. The Frida Kahlo find at Sleipner contains five to nine million barrels of oil equivalent in gas and condensate, with production starting next month.
1. Byrding C Oil Discovery
The Byrding C prospect lies 5km northwest of the Fram field in the Troll area. The COSL Innovator rig drilled the well in licence 090 HS, uncovering an estimated 4–8 million barrels of recoverable oil.
2. Frida Kahlo Gas and Condensate Find
The Frida Kahlo well, drilled from the Sleipner B platform northwest of Sleipner Vest, contains 5–9 million barrels of oil equivalent in gas and condensate. Production is slated to commence as early as next month, linking into the Sleipner hub.
3. Ownership and Production Plans
Equinor holds 75% of Byrding C with INPEX Idemitsu Norge at 25%, while Sleipner licence partners include Equinor (58.3%), Orlen Upstream Norway (24.4%) and Vår Energi (17.2%). Infrastructure tie-backs will leverage existing pipelines to expedite startup.
4. Exploration Success and Future Wells
Since 2018, 26 wells have been drilled across the extended Troll region with a 73% discovery rate from 19 finds. In the Sleipner area, four consecutive wells yielded 55–140 mboe, and plans call for three additional exploration and two production wells this year.