Norway’s energy group Equinor has more than doubled its previous estimate of recoverable gas volumes at the Afrodite discovery, located near the Kvitebjørn field in the North Sea, with recoverable gas and condensate volumes now estimated at 77–180 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe).
« Equinor considers the discovery to be commercially viable and will continue to work on the possibility of a subsea development tied back to the Kvitebjørn platform. In the event of a development, the gas could be sent via existing infrastructure to the Kollsnes processing plant in Øygarden and on to the European market”, said Equinor.
Discovered in 2008, Afrodite is operated by Equinor, which holds a 60% stake, in partnership with Orlen (25%), DNO (10%), and Wellesley Petroleum (5%).
The announcement follows a series of discoveries made by Equinor and its partners in October 2026.
- In early October, Equinor, Petoro and OMV discovered an estimated 3.3–10.3 mboe of gas at the Gullfaks South field (KEI, 09/10/2026).
- Later in the month, Equinor, alongside Petoro and TotalEnergies, made an oil and gas discovery at exploration well 30/8-7 S Grimsnes, near the Oseberg field in the Norwegian North Sea (Equinor press release, 14/10/2026). Drilled by the Deepsea Bergen rig, the well is estimated to contain preliminary recoverable volumes of 19–50 mboe (3–8 mcm) (KEI, 15/10/2026).
Equinor plans to drill 200 near-field exploration wells and deliver approximately 75 subsea developments by 2035. The company aims to maintain production on the Norwegian continental shelf at 1.3 mboe/d, equivalent to around 475 mboe/year, in 2035.