Statoil together with the PL713 partners has made a gas discovery in the Pingvin prospect in the Barents Sea, the company said. The discovery is a play opener in a frontier area of the Barents Sea northwest of Johan Castberg.

The discovery well 7319/12-1 proved a 15-m (49-ft) gas column in the well path. Statoil estimates the recoverable volumes in Pingvin to be in the range of 30 MMboe to 120 MMboe. The discovery is currently assessed as noncommercial.

Exploration well 7319/12-1 is located in PL713 about 65 km (40 miles) northwest of the Johan Castberg discovery. Statoil is operator with an interest of 40%. The partners are RN Nordic Oil AS (20%), North Energy ASA (20%) and Edison International Norway Branch (20%).