Lundin Norway has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) to drill two exploration wells, one with the Borgland Dolphin rig and the other one with the Island Innovator, in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea, respectively.
The PSA granted Lundin the consent for drilling exploration well 16/1-25S, in production licence 338C in block 16/1 in the central North Sea. Lundin is the operator of the licence and the well is to be drilled in a prospect called Rolvsnes.
According to the PSA, the company will use the Borgland Dolphin semi-submersible drilling rig and drilling will begin in mid-September 2015 at the earliest. It is estimated that the drilling will last 45 days, depending on whether a discovery is made.
The Borgland Dolphin is of the Aker H-3 type. It was built at Harland & Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1977 and underwent an extensive upgrade in 1999. The rig is owned by Borgland Dolphin Pte Ltd and operated by Dolphin Drilling A/S. It received Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) in September 2004.
Norwegian Sea well
The PSA granted Lundin the consent for drilling exploration well 6407/10-4 in the Norwegian Sea.
Lundin will use the Island Innovator rig and drilling will begin in September 2015 at the earliest and estimated to last 69 days, depending on whether a discovery is made.
The Island Innovator is a semi-submersible drilling rig of the GM4000-WI type, built in 2012 at Cosco Zhoushan Shipyard in China. The rig is operated by Odfjell Drilling, it is registered in Norway and classified by DNV GL. The Island Innovator was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in August 2013.
Offshore Energy Today Staff