Norwegian operator Aker BP has once again struck oil in the area south of its Alvheim field in the North Sea, with a discovery at the Froskelaar Main prospect.

The discovery and other nearby finds could potentially allow for a new standalone development if additional wildcats are also successful, according to analysts.

Froskelaar (Frog Leg) follows up on last year’s nearby Frosk (Frog) discovery, which was one of Norway’s most promising oil finds of 2018 with about 50 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The latest discovery probably holds oil and gas totalling between 45 million and 153 million boe, in line with pre-drill estimates. Parts of the reservoir may straddle the Norway-UK marine border, according to Aker BP.

“The drilling operation will continue, and a comprehensive data collection programme will be performed to determine the size and quality of the discovery. More information will be provided when this work has been completed,” Aker BP said this week.

Once Froskelaar Main is plugged, Aker BP plans to explore the Froskelaar North-East prospect a short hop away, with potential resources of up to 23 million boe.

The company will continue with the Rumpetroll (Tadpole) wildcat, with a pre-drilling volume estimate of 45 million to 148 million boe. This probe has a moderate chance of success, but has “large upside potential”, according to the operator.

Aker BP also aims to drill a multilateral appraisal and production well at Frosk that will be tied back to Alvheim for test production. It is using Saipem’s semi-submersible Scarabeo 8 for the frog-related drilling campaign.

Froskelaar and Rumpetroll are located in production licence 869 immediately north and south of the subsea Boyla field, which is tied back to the Aker BP-operated floating production, storage and offloading vessel at Alvheim about 28 kilometres to the north.

Aker BP holds a 60% interest with partners Lundin Petroleum and Vaar Energi on 20% each.

Frosk lies in PL 340, which also contains Boyla. The amphibian-named finds are most likely to be produced via Boyla and Alvheim, though further volumes could open up for additional infrastructure in the area, analysts said.

“It is still early days, but this is nevertheless clearly positive news,” analysts at Carnegie in Oslo said in a note.

With Frosk and Froskelaar and potentially further volumes at Rumpetroll, “this could eventually be so large that it warrants a standalone development”.

A possible stand-alone project would depend on many factors including future discoveries and infrastructure solutions, an Aker BP spokesman said.

"The results of these exploration wells, test production from Frosk and an evaluation of additional opportunities in the area as well as technical studies related to capacity at the Alvheim FPSO will form the basis for a comprehensive evaluation of how to best develop the Alvheim area in the coming decades," the spokesman said.

After a production dip in the next couple of years, the Alvheim floater is expected to pump about 100,000 boepd in 2022 as Frosk and three other discoveries are tied in, and further discoveries may prolong the plateau, Aker BP has said.

Lundin Petroleum and ConocoPhillips are partners in the field. Alvheim - plus Aker BP's other Norwegian hubs at Valhall, Ivar Aasen, Ula and Skarv - caused the company's fourth-quarter production to jump 15% to 155,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the company said separately this week.

The Anglo-Norwegian operator earned a net profit of $54.3 million in the quarter, an increase from $34 million one year ago, as revenues rose 22% year-on-year to $886 million.