Vaar Energi, a majority owned unit of Italy’s Eni, has made a “significant” discovery of new oil resources in the mature Balder area of the southern Norwegian North Sea, the company said.

The latest preliminary estimates from exploratory wells showed volumes between 60 million and 135 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents, Vaar said in a statement.

“The discoveries prove that there are still opportunities in the mature areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” said Torger Roed, CEO of Vaar Energi.

It was the fifth significant exploration discovery of 2021 for Vaar Energi, it added.

Mime Petroleum has a 10% stake in the discoveries, with the two firms now assessing a tie-in to the existing infrastructure in the Balder area.

Vaar Energi is a joint venture of Italy’s Eni (69.85%) and Norway private equity investor HitecVision (30.15%).