DNO Announces Biggest O&G Find on Norwegian Shelf in a Decade

A consortium of oil companies led by Norway's Wellesley Petroleum has discovered what they believe to be the largest oilfield find on the Norwegian Shelf in a decade. 

Wellesley began drilling at the Carmen prospect in early April using the rig Deepsea Yantai. The high-pressure, high-temperature formation in license area PL1148 was expected to contain about 110 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe). However, the results look much better: According to consortium partner DNO ASA, Carmen contains an estimated 120-230 MMboe recoverable, with 175 MMboe as the estimate midpoint. If this value is accurate, it would be the biggest find on the Norwegian shelf in a decade. 

The discovery well and a sidetrack well found gas and gas condensate, the lightest grade of crude. The wells established a deeper-than-expected point of hydrocarbon-water contact, the level below which the drill rig finds water in the rock pores instead of oil. 

Carmen is DNO’s sixth discovery in the Troll-Gjøa area since 2021, and it is located close to existing infrastructure for lower-cost commercialization. The existing discoveries are Røver Nord, Kveikje, Ofelia, Røver Sør and Heisenberg.

“Norway is the gift that keeps on giving,” said DNO’s 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."

DNO purchased a 30 percent stake in the PL1148 license last year. The operator is Wellesley Petroleum (50 percent), Equinor (10 percent) and Aker BP (10 percent).