Vår Energi ASA discovered oil in the Countach appraisal well north of Goliat field in the Barents Sea.
The appraisal well was drilled following the 7122/8-1 S Countach discovery in 2023 about 13 km northeast of the Goliat FPSO. In addition to encountering oil in the Kobbe formation with good reservoir quality, an oil column of over 200 m was encountered in the Klappmyss formation, which despite being of poorer reservoir quality, opens new opportunities in the deeper section of the Goliat ridge, Vår Energi said in a release Dec. 12.
Preliminary estimated gross recoverable resources in the well are 4- 5 MMboe, bringing the total estimated recoverable resources in the Countach discovery to 10-55 MMboe. The discovery confirms the potential of the Goliat ridge, the company said.
To assist further development of the Goliat area, Vår Energi is planning to acquire new 3D and 4D seismic during 2025. Three more wells, Zagato North, Zagato South, and Goliat North are expected to be drilled in 2025 targeting similar opportunities in the Goliat ridge between Goliat field and the Countach discovery. These wells are targeting about 100 MMboe estimated additional gross prospective recoverable resources.
Goliat field lies 50 km southeast of Snøhvit field in 360-420 m of water. The field was discovered in 2000 and was developed with the Sevan 1000 cylindrical floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Eight subsea templates with a total of 32 well slots are tied-back to the FPSO. Production started in 2016.
The Countach appraisal well is the first well of the company's planned 2-year drilling campaign in the Barents Sea targeting both infill production and exploration wells. After completing work at Countach, a new exploration well is planned on the Elgol prospect 17 km northeast of Goliat.
In total, Vår Energi plans to drill around 20 exploration wells in the Barents Sea region over a 4-year period as part of a plan to sustain long-term production at 350,000-400,000 boe.
Vår Energi is operator at Goliat with 65% interest. Equinor ASA holds the remaining 35%.
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).
