Commercial oil and gas discovery in the Gjøa area in the North Sea
Sandnes, Norway 27 June 2024: The Vår Energi ASA (OSE: VAR) operated Cerisa exploration well in production license PL 636 was successful with estimated gross recoverable resources of between 18-39 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).
The discovery is the fourth discovery 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 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”, says Vår Energi COO, Torger Rød.
The commercial Cerisa discovery adds to an already impressive exploration track record. Over the past five years, Vår Energi has had a discovery rate of over 50 percent, with finding costs of less than USD 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. 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.
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 kilometers northeast of the Vår Energi operated Gjøa platform and five kilometers from the Duva subsea template. The Gjøa field is about 80 kilometers southwest of Florø.
The license partners are Vår Energi ASA (operator) 30%, Inpex Idemitsu Norge AS 30%, PGNiG Upstream Norway AS 30% and Sval Energi AS 10%.
Contact
Investor relations
Ida Marie Fjellheim, Head of Investor Relations
+47 90509291
Media relations
Liv Jannie Omdal, VP Communications
+47 97667137
Liv.omdal@varenergi.no
About Vår Energi
Vår Energi is a leading independent upstream oil and gas company on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). We are committed to deliver a better future through responsible value driven growth based on over 50 years of NCS operations, a robust and diversified asset portfolio with ongoing development projects, and a strong exploration track record. Our ambition is to be the safest operator on the NCS, the partner of choice, an ESG leader with a tangible plan to reduce emissions from our operations by 50% within 2030. Vår Energi has around 1400 employees and equity stakes in 47 fields. We have our headquarters outside Stavanger, Norway, with offices in Oslo, Hammerfest and Florø. To learn more, please visit varenergi.no.