Shell has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway to use Transocean Barents to drill a production well at Ormen Lange, in the Norwegian Sea.
Ormen Lange is a gas field located in the southern part of the Norwegian Sea. Norske Shell AS (Shell) is the operator of the field, which came on stream in 2007. Water depth at Ormen Lange is between 800 and 1100 metres, and the field has been developed using subsea technology.
The PSA has now granted Shell consent to use the Transocean Barents semi-submersible drilling rig to drill production well 6305/7-D-5H.
Drilling is scheduled to begin on November 15, 2014. Environmental protection factors mean that drilling in the reservoir is not permitted in winter. Drilling will therefore be suspended and not restart until March 1, 2015 at the earliest.
Transocean Barents is a semi-submersible drilling rig of the Aker H-6e type, built at Aker Kverner Stord in 2009. It is registered in the Marshall Islands and classified by DNV GL. Transocean Barents was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in October 2012.
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