Equinor strikes gas in North Sea wildcat wells, opening new development potential
(WO) - Equinor and Aker BP have announced a new gas and condensate discovery in the North Sea after drilling two exploration wells at the Lofn and Langemann prospects, marking a promising start for Production Licence 1140.
The wildcat wells—15/5-8 S and 15/5-8 A—were drilled about 7 km north of the Eirin field and roughly 240 km west of Stavanger using Odfjell Drilling's Deepsea Atlantic rig. The license, awarded in 2022, is now seeing its first exploration results.
Early estimates indicate that the Lofn prospect contains 22–63 million barrels of oil equivalent, while Langemann could hold 6–50 million barrels. Together, the finds represent a meaningful addition to the area’s resource base.
Both wells encountered gas and condensate in the Middle Jurassic Hugin Formation, confirming hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs. Although deeper Triassic targets were water-bearing, operators collected extensive samples and data to support further evaluation.
Equinor said the companies will now assess development options, including possible tiebacks to existing North Sea infrastructure—an increasingly important approach for maximizing value from smaller discoveries.
"The Lofn and Langemann discovery marks the conclusion of a strong exploration year for Aker BP," added Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP. "Across three major discoveries, we have added more than 100 million barrels net to the company, including Omega Alfa and Kjøttkake earlier this year."
"This makes 2025 our most successful exploration year since Johan Sverdrup was discovered in 2010. These results are key to sustaining production above 500,000 barrels per day into the 2030s. The progress achieved this year reinforces our confidence in delivering on that trajectory," Hersvik said.
