DNO, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, has announced that an appraisal well at the Afrodite gas-condensate discovery has more than doubled estimated recoverable resources to 77–180 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe). Also this week, DNO and its license partners approved the development of last year’s Kjøttkake discovery, with first oil scheduled in 2028.
Drilled in the Norwegian North Sea license PL293, the Afrodite well confirmed deeper hydrocarbon presence and improved the understanding of reservoir distribution across the structure. The license partnership, in which DNO holds 10 percent interest, will study development alternatives for the high-pressure, high-temperature discovery in tight reservoir rocks. The most likely development option includes extensive reservoir stimulation and a 30-kilometer tie-back to the Kvitebjørn hub, in which DNO holds 19 percent.
DNO acquired its stake in Afrodite as part of a multi-asset swap agreed with Equinor Energy AS in March this year that strengthened its position around Kvitebjørn, establishing it as a new core area for the Company. Importantly, the deal also secured DNO 19 percent in the nearby Atlantis discovery, a Kvitebjørn tie-back candidate approaching final investment decision.
'Kvitebjørn is shaping up to be a hotspot for tie-back developments offshore Norway and DNO moved quickly to position itself in the hub and surrounding discoveries,' said DNO Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani. 'We knew Afrodite would be a tough rock to crack, but these volumes make the rock worth fracking.'
Also in the Kvitebjørn area, DNO holds a 30 percent stake in the Carmen discovery, which was appraised in June this year. The appraisal well placed recoverable resources at Carmen at an estimated 21–107 MMboe in tight reservoirs that, like Afrodite, will likely benefit from hydraulic fracturing.
Meanwhile, in DNO’s adjacent Gjøa core area, the Kjøttkake discovery, in which the Company holds a 40 percent interest, will be fast-tracked as a three-well subsea completion tied back to the Gjøa platform. Kjøttkake, which holds an estimated 37 MMboe of recoverable resources, is expected to be brought on production by the first half of 2028, only three years after discovery. The development will be operated by Aker BP (45 percent) by arrangement, with operatorship to revert to DNO after first oil.
Kjøttkake will deliver gross production of some 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day at plateau. Together with four other tie-back projects in the Gjøa area, the field will add to DNO’s production at what has become the Company’s largest production hub offshore Norway.
Source: DNO
