Equinor and partners have detected 12-25 million recoverable barrels of oil at the Skruis exploration well in the Johan Castberg licence.
Skruis, located within the Johan Castberg licence area, was the first operated exploration well drilled by Equinor this year in the Barents Sea.
It was drilled by the Songa Enabler rig.
Equinor, Eni and Petoro will now further consider tie-in of the discovery to Johan Castberg.
The Johan Castberg field is planned for start-up in 2022 and currently has full capacity up to 2026-2027.
Nick Ashton, Equinor’s senior vice president, Exploration, Norway & UK, said: “This is an important discovery. It helps to determine the size of the Johan Castberg resource base which is currently being developed.
“Securing resources near existing infrastructure is an important part of Equinor’s ambition and strategy on the Norwegian continental shelf.
“The Skruis discovery confirms the potential in this part of the Barents Sea. Over the past couple of years, we have learned that exploration in the Barents Sea is challenging and takes patience.
“We still have three Equinor-operated wells and one partner-operated well left to drill in the Barents Sea. We also have a good portfolio for the next couple of years.
“Together with the wells we drilled in 2017, this will help clarify the potential in the remaining part of the Barents Sea.”