Norwegian offshore oil and gas firm Equinor had said it has made a profitable oil discovery in Oseberg area in the North Sea.

“The well was drilled by the Askepott rig and the discovery will soon be put on stream via the new, unmanned and remote-operated H platform on the Oseberg field,” Equinor said Thursday.

Included in the Oseberg Vestflanken phase 2 project, the exploration extension well 30/6-H-9-T4 proved a 112-meter oil column in a segment that has not been tested before. Oil was proven in the Statfjord formation in southern parts of the Alpha structure on Oseberg, Equinor said.

“Reservoir characteristics are excellent with high oil saturation. Recoverable resources are estimated at 22 million barrels of oil. The partners will consider water injection to further increase recoverable volumes,” Equinor said.

“Discoveries as these underline the importance of near-field exploration. Our ambition is to maintain profitable production from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) for several decades. A major contribution will come from wells that are drilled at low cost and close to existing infrastructure,” says Nakken.

The unmanned and remote-operated wellhead platform Oseberg H – Norway’s first such platform – started production in October 2018.