Equinor Strikes New Oil and Gas Discovery Near Norway's Troll Field

Equinor ASA EQNR and its partners have announced a fresh oil and gas discovery in the Fram area, located just 9 kilometers north of the prolific Troll field in the North Sea. The find adds to a string of recent exploration successes in the region, highlighting the company’s continued focus on unlocking new resources close to established infrastructure.

The exploration well 35/11-31 S, drilled by the COSL Innovator rig under production licence 090, encountered petroleum in two separate reservoirs. One holds both oil and gas, while the other contains gas. Early estimates place the recoverable resources in the band of 0.1-1.1 million standard cubic meters of oil equivalent, with reservoir quality ranging from moderate to very good. The discovery has been named as “F-South.”

Geir Sørtveit, senior vice president for Exploration & Production West at Equinor, noted that the discoveries are located in a promising area with strong existing infrastructure. He emphasized that Equinor has identified several new resources in the vicinity in recent years and intends to continue exploration work in the region, with expectations of uncovering additional oil and gas deposits.

Development Potential

The consortium of licensees — Equinor Energy AS (45%), Vår Energi ASA (40%), and INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS (15%) — will now assess the potential for tying the newly named F-South discovery back to existing or future infrastructure in the North Sea.

Equinor has been steadily building momentum in the Fram area. Since 2019, the company has reported multiple discoveries, including Echino South, Swisher, Røver North, Blasto, Toppand, Kveikje, Røver South, Heisenberg, Crino/Mulder, Rhombi and Ringand. Several of these, including Echino South and Blasto, form the basis for the upcoming Fram South subsea development project, for which a plan for development and operation (PDO) was submitted to Norwegian authorities in June this year.

A Region of Continued Growth

The new find underscores Equinor’s strategy of maximizing value creation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf by investing in exploration near existing fields. With a mature infrastructure grid nearby, discoveries like F-South can often be developed more cost-effectively and with lower emissions than standalone projects.

As further appraisal and technical assessments are carried out, Equinor and its partners will determine how F-South fits into the growing portfolio of projects around Fram and Troll — two of the North Sea’s cornerstone energy hubs.

EQNR’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

EQNR currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors interested in the energy sector may look at a couple of better-ranked stocks like Antero Midstream Corporation AM, Precision Drilling Corporation PDS and USA Compression Partners, LP USAC. While Precision Drilling sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, both Antero Midstream and USA Compression Partnerscarry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.   

Antero Midstream generates stable cash flow by providing midstream services under long-term contracts with Antero Resources. The company prioritizes debt reduction by effectively utilizing free cash flow after dividends. Antero Midstream’s higher dividend yield compared to its sub-industry peers reflects its commitment to generating shareholder returns.

AM’s earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters, met once and missed in the other, delivering an average surprise of 1.13%.

Precision Drilling is an oilfield services company. It provides contract drilling, well servicing and strategic support services to the oil and gas industry in North America and internationally. It provides land drilling, directional drilling, turnkey drilling, camp and catering services, and procures and distributes oilfield supplies.

PDS’ earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed in the other two, delivering an average surprise of 977.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings indicates a 14.2% year-over-year decline.

USA Compression benefits from a strong presence in high-growth basins like the Permian, supported by rising natural gas demand and LNG export expansion. Its revenue model, based on horsepower utilization, ensures stable cash flow insulated from commodity price swings. Long-term client relationships and record horsepower additions support growth.

USAC’s earnings beat estimates in one of the trailing four quarters and missed in the remaining three, delivering an average negative surprise of 19.8%.

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