Oil exploration and production company Aker BP has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill an exploration well in the North Sea using the Maersk Interceptor drilling rig.
The PSA said on Wednesday that the well would be drilled in a prospect named Nordfjellet in block 25/2 in production license 442.
Water depth at the site is 120 meters, and the drilling is scheduled to begin in August 2017 at the earliest.
The license is operated by Aker BP which holds 90.26 percent of ownership interest while Lotos Exploration and Production Norge holds the remaining 9.74 percent.
The well will be drilled by the jack-up drilling rig Maersk Interceptor. The rig was delivered by the Keppel Shipyard of Singapore in 2014, and is owned by Maersk and operated by Maersk Drilling Norge. The Maersk Interceptor was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in December 2014.
Earlier this month, Aker BP received consent from the offshore watchdog to use the Maersk Interceptor rig to drill two exploration wells, designated 25/4-11 and 25/4-12, in the Hyrokkin prospect, north of Alvheim in the North Sea.