DNO has announced a “significant” discovery at the Carmen well, a find believed to be the largest in Norwegian waters for over a decade.
Located in Norwegian North Sea license PL1148, the 35/10-10 S Carmen well was spudded on 4 April with the Deepsea Yantai semi-sub.
It targeted a high impact, high pressure high temperature (HPHT) play in the Middle Jurassic Brent Group and Oseberg Formation, and Lower Jurassic Cook Formation.
Today DNO (OSE:DNO) announced that a preliminary evaluation of gathered well data suggests the play could hold gross recoverable resources in the range of 120-230 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) on a P90-P10 basis.
At the midpoint of this range – 175 million boe – the find would rank as the largest discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf since 2013, the company added.
Core and fluid samples were acquired from the discovery well, as well as a follow-on extended sidetrack. Between them the two wells established a deeper hydrocarbon-water contact, tripling the mid-point of DNO’s pre-drill expected range.
In doing so it smashes the pre-drill mean resources of 109 million boe, as quoted by the partners earlier this year.
DNO farmed into a 30% share in PL1148 in 2022 through its DNO Norge subsidiary, joining operator Wellesley Petroleum (50%) and Equinor and Aker, which hold 10% each.
Carmen is Wellesley’s first operated HP/HT well, and is lies in the prolific “Brent fairway” in the Fram and North Troll Area (FANTA), which has so far delivered four commercial discoveries in the last three years.
‘The gift that keeps on giving’
Carmen is DNO’s sixth discovery in the Troll-Gjøa area since 2021. Lying near the Troll and Fram fields it is sited close to existing infrastructure with “clear routes towards commercialization”, DNO said.
Its other discoveries include Røver Nord, Kveikje, Ofelia, Røver Sør and Heisenberg.
“Norway is the gift that keeps on giving,” said DNO executive chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani.
“Carmen proves there are important discoveries still to be made and Norway’s oldest oil company, DNO, will be part of this next chapter of the country’s oil and gas story.”
Wellesley is a privately owned Norwegian explorer, backed by private equity group Bluewater.
It is currently developing several FANTA projects, billed by the firm as “one of the most exciting development projects in Norway in the coming years” and with first production from the portfolio expected in 2028.
The company intends for the projects to be tied back to the Equinor-operated Troll B / C platforms, which will be electrified in time for first production from the project.