**OMV Discovers Substantial Gas Reserve in Norwegian Sea, Ponders Tieback to Aasta Hansteen Field**
On August 23, OMV (Norge) AS announced a significant gas discovery in production license 1194 in the Norwegian Sea, with estimated recoverable volumes ranging from 30 to 140 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe). This discovery is strategically located approximately 65 kilometers from the existing infrastructure of the Polarled pipeline and the Aasta Hansteen field.
The exploration well, 6605/6-1 S, was drilled by the Transocean Norge drilling rig in a water depth of 1,064 meters. The well was situated 300 kilometers west of the Norwegian mainland and terminated in the Nise formation in the Upper Cretaceous at a vertical and measured depth of 4,641 and 5,123 meters subsea, respectively.
### Key Exploration Details
– **Primary Target:** The primary exploration target aimed to prove petroleum in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks in the Springar formation, with a secondary target in the Nise formation.
– **Gas Discovery:** In the primary exploration target, a gas column of approximately 20 meters was encountered, with 13 meters in sandstone reservoir rocks exhibiting moderate to good reservoir quality. No gas/water contact was observed during the drilling operation.
– **Additional Discoveries:** Two other gas-filled sandstone layers totaling around 11 meters in the lower part of the Springar formation and a 5-meter gas column in the secondary exploration target in the Nise formation were also discovered. The size of these volumes is uncertain but preliminary estimates suggest between 0.5 to 6 million cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent (Sm³ o.e.) for each layer, respectively.
### Strategic Implications
OMV plans to