Aker BP Discovers Large Commercial Oil Field Off Norway's Southwest Coast

Aker BP has made one of Norway's largest commercial discoveries in a decade at the Yggdrasil area off the southwest coast. The discovery is significant and commercial, and the well is expected to increase the company's oil and gas reserves. The discovery is a major milestone for Aker BP and demonstrates the potential of the Yggdrasil area.

Title: Aker BP Announces Significant Oil Discovery in Yggdrasil Area

Norway's Aker BP ASA has announced a significant oil discovery in the Yggdrasil area off the southwest coast, marking one of the largest commercial discoveries in the country in over a decade. The discovery, with an estimated recoverable volume of 96-134 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), is a major milestone for the company and demonstrates the potential of the Yggdrasil area [1].

Aker BP's Chief Executive Officer, Karl Johnny Hersvik, described the Omega Alfa discovery as one of the largest commercial finds in Norway in a decade. The discovery is a significant step towards the company's ambition of producing more than one billion barrels from the Yggdrasil area [2]. The Omega Alfa campaign targeted five structures—Omega, Alfa, Alfa South, Sigma NE, and Pi—through a multilateral well on the western side of Yggdrasil. The campaign initially reported a discovery of 20-40 MMboe from two of the structures, which has now been expanded to 96-134 MMboe after the completion of the campaign [1].

The drilling operations, conducted by Odfjell Drilling Ltd.'s semi-submersible Deepsea Stavanger, spanned 45,000 meters, including 40,000 meters in reservoir sections. This included the three longest well branches ever drilled on the Norwegian continental shelf, with the longest branch reaching 10,666 meters [1]. The horizontal drilling method enabled the collection of an unprecedented amount of high-quality reservoir data, significantly reducing subsurface uncertainty and allowing for rapid progress in concept studies for the optimal tie-back solution to Yggdrasil [1].

Yggdrasil, between Alvheim and Oseberg, is the biggest hydrocarbon development underway on the Norwegian continental shelf. The development plan, approved by Norwegian authorities in 2023, includes a processing platform with a well area and living quarters, Hugin A. An unmanned production platform, Munin, would be installed on the northern side of Yggdrasil, with Hugin A providing services such as oil stabilization and produced water treatment. The project is expected to start production in 2027, with 55 wells planned [1].

The Omega Alfa discovery represents a significant building block in achieving Aker BP's ambition of growing the proven resource base at Yggdrasil from approximately 700 MMboe to more than one billion barrels through further exploration [2]. The development plan for Yggdrasil includes the installation of nine templates, pipelines, and umbilicals, with natural gas and oil to be exported through shared pipelines [1].

This discovery is crucial for operators in Norway to unlock additional resources that could be developed via existing infrastructure, lowering development costs and allowing resources to hit the market faster than stand-alone developments [4]. The Norwegian government continues to support the oil and gas industry, which remains a significant contributor to the country's economy and sovereign wealth fund [4].

References:
[1] https://www.rigzone.com/news/aker_bp_declares_significant_discovery_in_norways_yggdrasil-21-aug-2025-181543-article/
[2] https://www.upstreamonline.com/exploration/norwegian-operator-reveals-commercial-discovery-among-largest-in-a-decade/2-1-1860467
[3] https://akerbp.com/en/borsmelding/significant-oil-discovery-in-the-yggdrasil-area-2/
[4] https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Aker-BP-Makes-Large-Oil-Discovery-at-Multi-Field-Project-in-Norways-North-Sea.html