Norwegian state-owned energy major Equinor has reported a fresh Arctic Norway oil discovery in the Barents Sea, marking another step in its ongoing exploration efforts offshore Norway. The find was made in the Polynya Tubåen prospect, also identified as the 7220/7-5 well, which was drilled using a semi-submersible rig operated by COSL Drilling Europe. According to the company, this Arctic Norway oil discovery is expected to support the continued development of the Johan Castberg field, with plans to potentially tie the new resource into existing infrastructure in the Barents Sea.
The 7220/7-5 well is located roughly 16 kilometers southwest of the discovery well 7220/8-1 within the Johan Castberg field and about 210 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest. Drilled by the COSL Prospector rig, the 7220/7-5 well targeted petroleum resources within Lower Jurassic reservoir rocks in the Tubåen Formation. During operations, the well encountered a 26-meter gas column and a 26-meter oil column, with total reservoir rock thickness reaching 39 meters and exhibiting good to very good quality. The overall thickness of the Tubåen Formation was measured at 125 meters. The gas/oil contact was identified at 972 meters below sea level, while the oil/water contact was found at 998 meters. Although formation testing was not carried out, extensive data acquisition and sampling were completed to evaluate the Arctic Norway oil discovery.
Drilling reached a vertical depth of 1,119 meters below sea level before terminating in the Fruholmen Formation from the Upper Triassic, with water depth at the site recorded at 361 meters. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned. Preliminary estimates suggest recoverable volumes ranging between 14 and 24 million barrels of oil equivalent. The Norwegian Offshore Directorate indicated that this corresponds to approximately 2.3 to 3.8 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent. License partners, including Equinor as operator alongside Vår Energi and Petoro, are evaluating whether the discovery can be connected to the Johan Castberg field, making it part of a broader development strategy on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
This marks the 17th exploration well in production licence 532, which was awarded during the 20th licensing round on the NCS in 2009. The Johan Castberg field was initially estimated to contain 500–700 million barrels, with ambitions to increase this by an additional 200–500 million barrels. In June 2025, another find, Drivis Tubåen, was recorded in the same area, with estimated volumes of 13–20 million barrels. Equinor also recently initiated construction work for the Isflak development, the first discovery planned to be tied into Johan Castberg, with Aker Solutions in Sandnessjøen building a well frame for two additional wells. The latest Arctic Norway oil discovery follows closely on the heels of another find in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, drilled using a semi-submersible rig from Odfjell Drilling.
