Equinor Claims to Have Made a New Oil Discovery Equivalent to Over 100 Million Barrels

The Discovery by Equinor May Attract More Investments to Offshore Oil and Gas Industry

On Wednesday (24), Equinor announced that it made a significant oil discovery in the Norwegian continental shelf, which may range between 75 and 120 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. The data refers to the so-called exploration well 31/2-22 S, in the Blasto prospect, located near the Fram field in the North Sea. The oil well was drilled to a vertical depth of 2,282 meters below sea level.

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Equinor’s Senior Vice President of Exploration in Norway, Nick Ashton, comments: “The discovery revitalizes one of the most mature areas in the Norwegian continental shelf. With discoveries in four out of the four prospects in the Fram area over the last 18 months, we prove volumes that, in total, will create considerable value for society.”

The oil well reached a total oil column of about 30 meters at the top of the Sognefjord formation and an oil column of about 50 meters at the bottom of the same formation, according to Equinor. The water depth in the area is 349 meters.

Equinor and its partners will consider tying it to other discoveries and existing infrastructure. The Norwegian oil company is the operator of the area, in partnership with Var Energi, Idemitsu Petroleum, and Neptune Energy.

Oil Barrel Production in Brazil

According to data from Petrobras, current Brazilian production is over 2 million barrels of oil per day. This performance places our country in second position in Latin America (behind only Venezuela) and 17^th in the global ranking of produced barrels.

However, Brazil still imports a small portion of the barrels of oil it produces. This occurs for economic and technical reasons. On one hand, while imported oil is paid in installments and on credit, exports are paid upfront, which provides a positive revenue in Brazil’s trade balance.

Oil production in Brazil is carried out in nine oil basins, four of which deserve special mention: the Campos, Santos, Espírito Santo, and Recôncavo Baiano basins.

Equinor is an international energy company headquartered in Norway with operations in over 30 countries. It has been present in Brazil for nearly 20 years, focusing on oil and gas exploration and production, as well as renewable energy.

Brazil is one of the three priority countries for investments in the company, which has a diversified oil and gas portfolio in the country, with licenses in different stages such as exploration, development, and production – in the Campos, Santos, and Espírito Santo basins. Equinor is the largest international company in terms of production volume, with an average of approximately 100,000 barrels of oil per day.