The latest drilling tests at a giant North Sea discovery has hit a record oil column.
Johan Sverdrup has been estimated to hold between 1.7billion and 3.3billion barrels of oil, but there had been uncertainty over the reservoir quality.
The latest well at the Norwegian field, drilled by its operator Statoil, found a 270ft oil column, the largest in the field to date according to licence partner Det Norske.
The height of the column measures the depth of the reservoir and provides key information about the size of the oil deposit.
“The result removes any uncertainty related to the reservoir quality in the part of the Johan Sverdrup discovery bordering the field’s main western boundary fault,” Det Norske said.
Swedbank analyst Teodor Sveen Nilsen said that although no new volume estimates had been announced, the test results derisked the licence substantially.