Statoil Petroleum AS has received consent to conduct exploration drilling of well 6607/12-3 with the West Alpha mobile facility.
Well 6607/12-3 is part of production licence 385 in the Norwegian Sea.
Water depth at the site is 363 metres. The well is located approx. 16 kilometres northwest of the Norne FPSO and 209 kilometres northwest of Brønnøysund.
The earliest start-up date for drilling is mid-August 2012, with an estimated duration of 67 days.
West Alpha is a type Ultra Yatzy semi-submersible drilling facility, built in 1986. The facility has been modified several times and is registered in Panama with Det Norske Veritas as its classification society.
West Alpha is operated by North Atlantic Drilling. The facility received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) in December 2001.
[mappress] Press Release , July 29, 2012