Resources per sea area

Remaining Resources

The North Sea holds about 42 per cent of the remaining resources. The distribution of the rest of the resources shows that there is 20 per cent left in the Norwegian Sea and 38 per cent in the Barents Sea.

There has been petroleum activity in the North Sea since 1965. The Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea (areas north of the 62^nd parallel) were opened for petroleum activities in 1980. The remaining resources and distribution between discovered and undiscovered resources in opened and unopened areas, respectively, therefore differ between the three ocean areas.

In the North Sea, most of the oil and gas is classified as reserves, which means that they have approved plans for production. In the Barents Sea, most of the oil and gas resources have the status of undiscovered resources. Vast areas in the Barents Sea have not been opened for petroleum activity as yet, and this is where we find the greatest expected value for undiscovered resources.

Undiscovered Resources

Undiscovered resources are volumes of petroleum that we assume could be recovered from deposits that have yet to be proven through drilling. The estimates for undiscovered resources in areas opened for petroleum activities are updated on an annual basis. The update is based on assessments taking into consideration the previous year's exploration results, new studies, as well as relevant information from the companies.

In areas that have not been opened for petroleum activities, the estimates are only updated if new data has been acquired in the area, providing significant new information.

North Sea

The North Sea is the powerhouse of the Norwegian petroleum activities, with 67 producing fields at year-end. Two new fields came on stream in 2023: Tommeliten A and Breidablikk. Five fields were shut down: Flyndre and Heimdal including its tied-in fields Atla, Skirne and Vale. Twelve new discoveries were made in 2023.

The resource accounts for the North Sea show that 185 million Sm³ (MSm³) of oil equivalents (o.e.) were sold and delivered from this part of the Norwegian continental shelf over the past year. At year-end, the reserves amounted to 170 MSm³ of o.e.

The estimate for undiscovered resources in the North Sea is 610 million Sm³ of recoverable o.e. This is distributed between 395 MSm³ of oil and 215 GSm³ of gas.

Even if one cannot rule out that larger discoveries could be made in the North Sea, we expect that the majority of discoveries will be relatively small. The average discovery size in the North Sea over the last five years is 3.5 MSm³ of recoverable o.e.

Norwegian Sea

There are 23 producing fields in the Norwegian Sea. Two new fields started production, Bauge and Fenja, and two new discoveries were made in the Norwegian Sea in 2023. The largest discovery in the Norwegian Sea was proven in 2005, 6406/9-1 Linnorm.

The resource accounts for the Norwegian Sea show that 48 MSm³ of o.e. were sold and delivered from this part of the Norwegian shelf over the past year. At year-end, the reserves amounted to 466 MSm³ of o.e. The estimate for undiscovered resources in the Norwegian Sea is 725 MSm³ of recoverable o.e. This is distributed between 350 MSm³ of oil and 375 GSm³ of gas.

The average discovery size in the Norwegian Sea has increased over the past five years and is now about 4.5 MSm³ of recoverable o.e. The resource estimates for the Norwegian Sea also include the unchanged resource volumes in Lofoten-Vesterålen and in the area around Jan Mayen. These make up approximately 33 per cent of the total estimates.

Barents Sea

There are two producing fields in the Barents Sea. One new discovery was made in this sea area in 2023. The largest discovery in the Barents Sea was proven in 2013, 7324/8-1 (Wisting).

The resource accounts for the Barents Sea show that 9 MSm³ of o.e. were sold and delivered from this part of the Norwegian shelf over the past year. At year-end, the reserves amounted to 260 MSm³ of o.e. The estimate for undiscovered resources in the Barents Sea is 2145 MSm³ of recoverable o.e. This is distributed between 1100 MSm³ of oil and 1045 GSm³ of gas. Exploration in the Barents Sea over the past five years has given mixed results. Exploration close to infrastructure has given good results, while wells in new areas were less successful. The average discovery size in this period is about 4.3 MSm³ o.e.

In the Barents Sea, 54 per cent of the resources are located in areas that have not been opened for petroleum activities, primarily in the Barents Sea North. This is the area with the greatest likelihood of making major discoveries on the Norwegian shelf. There are considerable uncertainties associated with the estimates in these areas.