Aker BP’s five-target exploration campaign in the Yggdrasil area of the Norwegian North Sea yielded significant recoverable volumes that are being considered for a tieback.
Aker BP announced 21 August its Omega Alfa exploration campaign had added substantial new resources to the Yggdrasil area. The $12.1 billion Yggdrasil development—previously known as NOAKA—was approved by Norwegian authorities in 2023 and is expected to go onstream in 2027.
Yggdrasil holds a proven resource base of about 700 million BOE, which the company aims to grow to 1 billion BOE through exploration. The operator still sees additional potential in the area, including at the Natrudstilen prospect, which is slated to be drilled later this year.
In July, Aker BP reported discovering 20 million BOE to 40 million BOE from two of the five Omega Alfa targets, and increased the combined recoverable volumes to between 96 million BOE and 134 million BOE following conclusion of the exploration campaign.
In the 21 August news release, Aker BP CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik called Omega Alfa one of the largest commercial discoveries in Norway in a decade. “It marks a major step toward our ambition of producing more than one billion barrels from the Yggdrasil area,” he said.
Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Stavanger started drilling operations in May and wrapped up activities 3 months later. During that time, the rig drilled the Omega, Alfa, Alfa South, Sigma NE, and Pi exploration targets through a multilateral well west of Yggdrasil.
The team drilled a total of 45,000 m, including what Aker BP said are the three longest well branches drilled on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, with the longest branch reaching 10,666 m.
The use of horizontal drilling enabled the collection of high-quality reservoir data, which the operator said has significantly reduced subsurface uncertainty. Aker BP will rapidly move to concept studies to determine the optimal tieback solution to Yggdrasil. In the second quarter of 2025, the operator sanctioned the development of the 2023 East Frigg discovery as part of the larger Yggdrasil project.
The Omega Alfa campaign offshore Norway was conducted across production licenses 873, 873 B, and 1249, all operated by Aker BP. Partners in licenses 873 and 873 B are Aker BP with 47.7%, Equinor with 40%, and Orlen Upstream Norway with 12.3%. In license 1249, partners are Aker BP with 38.16%, Equinor with 32%, Petoro with 20%, and Orlen Upstream Norway with 9.84%.
