Aker BP and Equinor have completed the Freke appraisal well 15/6-18 S in the Norwegian North Sea without establishing additional oil and gas resources, leaving the discovery’s previous resource estimate unchanged.
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate announced on 2 November 2026 that the well, drilled in production licence 1139, was classified as dry despite encountering traces of oil in the reservoir.
The appraisal was carried out approximately 13 kilometres north of the Sleipner field and 230 kilometres west of Stavanger.
Aker BP operates production licence 1139 with a 70% interest, while Equinor holds the remaining 30%.
The Freke oil and gas discovery was made in 2009 by well 15/6-10 in the former production licence 029 B. Well 15/6-18 S is the first exploration well drilled in the current production licence 1139.
Prior to the latest drilling campaign, Freke’s estimated resources stood at between 2 million and 4.2 million standard cubic metres of oil equivalent, corresponding to approximately 12.6 million to 26.4 million barrels of oil equivalent.
The appraisal did not establish additional volumes, and the estimated resources therefore remain within the previously reported range.
According to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s official drilling results, the well was intended to delineate the existing discovery and investigate the potential for additional petroleum resources in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks of the Vestland Group.
The well encountered a 101-metre interval in the Sleipner Formation, containing 37 metres of net sandstone with moderate reservoir quality.
Oil shows were recorded across an interval of approximately 40 metres. Nevertheless, the regulator classified the well as dry because it did not establish additional hydrocarbon volumes.
The drilling programme also recovered a 36-metre core from the Vestland Group and collected geological data for further evaluation.
Well 15/6-18 S reached a vertical depth of 3,753 metres below sea level, terminating in the Triassic Skagerrak Formation. Water depth at the location was 111 metres.
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s official wellbore records show that drilling commenced on 27 September 2026 and was completed on 22 October 2026.
The well has since been permanently plugged and abandoned.
The drilling operation was conducted using Deepsea Nordkapp, a sixth-generation semi-submersible drilling rig operated by Odfjell Drilling.
Delivered in 2019, the rig is based on the Moss-enhanced CS60E design and is equipped for dynamically positioned, harsh-environment and winterised offshore operations.
According to Odfjell Drilling’s official rig specifications, Deepsea Nordkapp can operate in water depths of up to 2,000 metres in dynamic positioning mode and has a maximum drilling-depth capacity of 10,670 metres.
Aker BP had previously received regulatory approval to use the rig for the Freke Nord drilling operation in production licence 1139.
The completed appraisal provides further geological information about the Freke structure but has not increased the quantity of resources attributed to the discovery.
The dry-well classification applies to the latest appraisal well. It does not negate the original discovery made in 2009 or establish that all hydrocarbons within the Freke structure are absent.
Equally, the unchanged resource estimate should not be interpreted as confirmation that Freke can be developed commercially.
The licence partners must still assess the discovery’s economic potential using the existing resource estimates and available subsurface information.
Aker BP and Equinor will now evaluate the discovery and clarify its commercial potential, according to the regulator.
No development approval or production timetable was announced in connection with the latest drilling results.
