Neptune Energy discovers oil and gas at Hamlet off Norway coast

Neptune Energy announced on Thursday the discovery of an estimated 5-11 million standard cubic metres (MSm3) or 30-70 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) at the Hamlet exploration wells (PL153) in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

Work is ongoing to confirm potential recoverable resources, but Neptune’s preliminary estimate is between 8-24 mmboe for the discovery, the company said in a statement.

“This discovery is in line with Neptune’s strategy to focus on exploration around existing hubs, enabling us to fast-track development, and to keep costs down and carbon emissions low,” said Neptune Energy’s Managing Director for Norway and the UK, Odin Estensen.

“A potential field development would build on our experiences from recent successful developments of the Duva field and Gjøa P1 segment,” he added.

Hamlet is a new discovery in the Gjøa area, where Neptune already operates two fields. Neptune Energy is the operator and owns 30 percent, Petoro owns 30 percent, Wintershall Dea owns 28 percent and OKEA owns 12 percent.

Hamlet is located 58 kilometres west of Florø, Norway, at a water depth of 358 metres. It will be considered as a tie-back to the Neptune-operated Gjøa semi-submersible platform, the company said.