The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Wintershall Norge ASA a drilling permit for well 35/12-4 S, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations.
Well 35/12-4 S will be drilled from the Songa Delta drilling facility at position 61°11’6.79” north and 03°41’29.48” east following completion of drilling of wildcat well 6507/8-8 for Nexen Exploration Norge AS in production licence 434.
The drilling program for well 35/12-4 S concerns the drilling of a wildcat well in production licence 378. Wintershall Norge ASA is the operator with a 45 per cent ownership interest. The other licensees are Talisman Energy Norge AS with 35 per cent and Premier Oil Norge AS with 20 per cent.
The area in this permit consists of block 35/12 as well as parts of block 36/10. The well was drilled 2.4 kilometres northeast of the 35/12-2 oil discovery well (Grosbeak) in the northern part of the North Sea.
Production licence 378 was awarded on 6 January 2006 (APA 2005). This is third well to be drilled in this licence.
The permit is contingent upon the operator having secured all other permits and consents required by other authorities before the drilling starts.
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Source:Wintershall , April 7, 2011; Image:Songa Offshore