Wintershall Dea completes appraisal well on Bergknapp discovery in Norway

• Updated resource estimate of 44 – 75 million BOE for the Bergknapp oil discovery
• Updated estimate of 6 – 25 million BOE for the deeper Åre Formation discovery
• Both discoveries will be evaluated as potential subsea developments

Wintershall Dea, in collaboration with its partners DNO Norge and Equinor, has successfully completed the drilling of an appraisal well at the Bergknapp discovery in the Norwegian Sea. The team is now assessing potential field development options. The Bergknapp discovery, part of the PL836S licence, is situated in a strategic area for Wintershall Dea in Norway, 8 kilometres west of the operated Maria field and 200 kilometres north of Kristiansund on Norway’s west coast. It is in close proximity to several other producing fields. 

“In recent years, we have had achieved significant success with our strategy of exploring areas where we have in-depth subsurface knowledge and access to existing infrastructure. The focused exploration strategy maximises our chances of making commercial discoveries and also shortens the time required for their development,” said Michael Zechner, Managing Director of Wintershall Dea Norge. “We take pride in our expertise in subsea developments, and see the potential to create value for Wintershall Dea, our partners and the entire Norwegian society.”

The appraisal well, completed by the Transocean Norge rig in early December, was drilled to minimise volumetric and subsurface uncertainties in the Bergknapp discovery, including the underlying discovery in the Åre Formation.

The updated recoverable resource estimate for the oil discovery in the Garn, Ile and Tilje formations is between 44 million and 75 million barrels of oil equivalent, while estimates for the underlying Åre Formation discovery are between 6 and 25 million barrels of oil equivalent.  

Wintershall Dea originally discovered oil in the Bergknapp prospect in 2020, followed by a gas discovery in the deeper Åre Formation during a successful re-entry and sidetrack in 2021.

The PL836S Bergknapp licence is located 200 kilometres north of Kristisansund in the Haltenbanken region of the Norwegian Sea. This a core area for Wintershall Dea, containing the operated Maria and Dvalin fields, as well as the Dvalin North development, the Adriana-Sabina discovery, and several exploration licences.

The Transocean Norge rig, under a long-term contract for Wintershall Dea and OMV, will now move to the nearby Wintershall Dea operated PL211 CS licence, where it will drill another appraisal well on the Adriana and Sabina discoveries.

“We have a strong belief in the potential of this area and will continue to leverage our existing position here to invest in new exploration and development opportunities,” said Roy Davies, VP Exploration for Wintershall Dea Norge.

Wintershall Dea is the operator of the PL836S Bergknapp licence with a 40 per cent share, while partners Equinor and DNO Norge each hold 30 per cent.

_{About Wintershall Dea}

_{Wintershall Dea is transforming from the leading European independent gas and oil company to become a leading European independent gas and carbon management company. We have more than 120 years of experience as an operator and project partner along the entire E&P value chain. The company with German roots and headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg explores for and produces gas and oil in 11 countries worldwide in an efficient and responsible manner. With activities in Europe, Latin America and the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Wintershall Dea has a global upstream portfolio and, with its participation in natural gas transport, is also active in the midstream business. And we develop carbon management and low carbon hydrogen projects to contribute to climate goals and secure energy supplies.  More in our Annual Report.}

_{As a European gas and oil company, we support the EU's 2050 carbon neutrality target. As our contribution we have set ourselves ambitious targets: We want to be net zero across our entire upstream operations – both operated and non-operated – by 2030. This includes Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) greenhouse gas emissions on an equity share basis. Wintershall Dea will also bring its methane emissions intensity below 0.1 per cent by 2025. We endorsed the World Bank’s Initiative ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ and continue to support the initiative aimed at eliminating routine flaring in operated assets by 2030. In addition, we plan to support global decarbonisation efforts by building up a carbon management and hydrogen business to potentially abate 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 per annum by 2040. You can find more about this in our Sustainability Report.}

_{Wintershall Dea was formed from the merger of Wintershall Holding GmbH and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, in 2019. Today, the company employs more than 2,000 people worldwide from almost 60 nations.}