Vår Energi makes Cerisa oil and gas discovery in Gjøa area offshore Norway

(WO) – The Vår Energi-operated Cerisa exploration well in production license PL 636 offshore Norway was successful, with estimated gross recoverable resources of between 18-39 MMboe.

The discovery is the fourth in a row close to the partly electrified Vår Energi-operated Gjøa platform. Together with previous discoveries, Gjøa North and Ofelia/Kyrre, Cerisa is a candidate to be tied into the Gjøa field by use of the existing infrastructure in the area. Combined, these discoveries have estimated gross recoverable resources of up to 110 MMboe.

The Cerisa exploration well and three additional side-track appraisal wells were drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig Deepsea Yantai. The oil-water contact was not encountered in the wells drilled, implying possible upside to the estimated resource range.

The Cerisa discovery is located 17 km northeast of the Vår Energi operated Gjøa platform and five km from the Duva subsea template. The Gjøa field is about 80 km southwest of Florø.

The Cerisa discovery is currently being included as part of the Gjøa North and Ofelia/Kyrre project team to enable a fast-track delivery of these four discoveries into production.

Over the past five years, Vår Energi has had a discovery rate of over 50%, with finding costs of less than $1 per barrel post tax. The discovery supports the company’s plans for continuous development of the North Sea as a long-term production hub for Vår Energi.

Vår Energi COO, Torger Rød, said, “The Gjøa area constitutes a key part of the company’s hub strategy on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The Cerisa discovery is a testament to our consistent and successful exploration strategy, targeting high value barrels close to existing infrastructure.”

“It clearly demonstrates the potential to unlock further resources in the area and adds to the value accretive synergies resulting from the Neptune transaction. It adds more high value, low carbon barrels supporting our target to deliver between 350-400 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day from 2025 and beyond.

“This discovery will now be assessed together with the other discoveries around Gjøa, where the Gjøa North and Ofelia/Kyrre developments are already ongoing. “

The license partners are Vår Energi ASA (operator) 30%, Inpex Idemitsu Norge AS 30%, PGNiG Upstream Norway AS 30% and Sval Energi AS 10%.