Cairn Energy said yesterday that a Norwegian company it is buying has struck oil in the north-eastern Norwegian North Sea.
Agora Oil and Gas has a 20% stake in the Skarfjell prospect, which could have up to 160million barrels of recoverable oil.
Agora chief executive Svein Ilebekk said: “We are very pleased to make such a promising discovery with our first well in the Norwegian sector.
“The combination of good reservoir properties, long oil column and large in-place volumes makes us confident in the commerciality of Skarfjell and we see good potential for the appraisal campaign to prove further upside volumes beyond the current range indicated by this well.”
Earlier this month, Edinburgh-based Cairn said it was buying Agora for about £280million.
Cairn said the deal, in which it will take on interests in licences in the UK and Norway, including the Catcher area, would help to bring balance to its portfolio.
Cairn’s recent focus has been exploring off Greenland, a high-risk frontier area, and more recently in the Mediterranean.
Agora has 15 staff in the UK and Norway.