Norwegian oil and gas firm Equinor has found more oil near its Johan Castberg Field in the Arctic Barents Sea, the company said Oct. 29.

The Skruis exploration well, drilled about 8 km, north of the original discovery, indicated a volume of between 12 million and 25 million barrels (MMbbl) of recoverable oil.

“The Skruis discovery confirms the potential in this part of the Barents Sea ... The partners will now further consider tie-in of the discovery to Johan Castberg,” Equinor said.

The Castberg field, estimated to hold between 450 MMbbl and 650 MMbbl of oil, excluding Skruis, is expected to start in 2022.

The timeframe for developing Skruis would depend on the availability of spare capacity at Johan Castberg production facilities, which are likely to be fully utilized until 2026-2027, the company added.

Equinor, the operator, holds a 50% stake in the Johan Castberg license, while Eni has 30% and Norway’s state-owned Petoro the remaining 20%.

Equinor plans to drill three wells in the Barents Sea this year, and to participate as a partner in a fourth.

Offshore