Equinor makes new oil discovery near Johan Castberg

Equinor made an oil discovery that will be tied into the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea. The discovery was made in the “Polynya Tubåen” prospect (7220/7-5). The well was drilled by the COSL Prospector rig. The preliminary volume estimate is between 14 and 24 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents.

The volume basis in Johan Castberg was originally estimated at 500–700 million barrels, and Equinor has an ambition to increase this by an additional 200–500 million barrels.

In June 2025, an oil discovery called “Drivis Tubåen” was made in the Castberg area, estimated at 13–20 million barrels in the Drivis structure.

Last week marked the start of construction for the development of Isflak, the first discovery to be tied into Johan Castberg. Aker Solutions in Sandnessjøen is building a well frame for two new wells that will be connected to existing subsea facilities.