Neptune Energy has confirmed that hydrocarbons have been encountered in the Calypso exploration well in the Norwegian Sea.
The London-headquartered independent announced the spudding of the well earlier this month within its operated PL938 licence.
Alongside Neptune (30%), licence partners include OKEA (30%), Pandion Energy (20%) and Vår Energi (20%).
The company said Wednesday that having entered the reservoir, logs proved the presence of hydrocarbons.
However, it said operations in the reservoir section remain “at an early stage” and it has yet to be confirmed if these represent commercial volumes.
Additional data gathering of the reservoir will now be considered.
Not to be confused with the major find off Cyprus in 2018, the prospect is located 9 miles north-west of the Draugen field and around 14 miles north-east of the Njord A platform.
Resources are reputedly estimated at up to 37 million barrels of oil.
Calypso is being drilled by the Deepsea Yantai, a semi-submersible rig owned by CIMC and operated by Odfjell Drilling.
The well marks the third successful discovery in Norway for Neptune this year, after successes at Hamlet and Ofelia.
Hamlet was confirmed in April to hold in the region of 5-11 million standard cubic metres (MSm3) or 30-70 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).
Ofelia, meanwhile, was found to hold recoverable volumes in the range of 16-39 mmboe.
Calypso lies within one of Neptune’s “core areas” in Norwegian waters, and in the event of a commercial discovery, could potentially be tied back to existing infrastructure.
OKEA has previously suggested Draugen – which it operates – would be the “competitive choice” as host for development as there is already subsea infrastructure in the area that can be used.
The Norwegian late-life operator acquired its stake in the prospect in 2020 and will carry a portion of Neptune’s well costs.