Equinor has made a new oil and gas discovery near Norway’s giant Troll Field in the North Sea with partners DNO, Wellesley Petroleum and Petoro, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said Feb. 5.

Equinor said in a separate statement that the reservoir is expected to contain between 44 million and 69 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The size of the discovery was “well above” expectations, junior partner DNO said without elaborating.

“The partners are considering fast-track development of the discovery with tie-back to nearby Troll area infrastructure, as well as additional drilling to test other identified prospects on the license,” DNO said.

Operator Equinor has a 40% stake in the license while Petoro, DNO and Wellesley Petroleum each hold 20% stakes.

Offshore