Offshore watchdog the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Statoil Petroleum a drilling permit for a wildcat well in the Barents Sea offshore Norway.
The well 7317/9-1 is located in a prospect named Koigen Central. It will be drilled from the Songa Enabler Cat D semi-submersible drilling rig, after completing the drilling of wildcat well 7435/12-1, known as Korpfjell, for Statoil in production license 859.
Statoil gained consent from the Norwegian safety authority to use the Songa Offshore-owned Songa Enabler rig for the Koigen well back in July.
The drilling program for the well 7317/9-1 relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production license 718. This will be Statoil’s fourth Barents Sea well planned for this summer. Other three wells include Blåmann, Gemini Nord (North), and Korpfjell.
According to Statoil’s drilling schedule, the rig will transit from drilling the Korpfjell well between August 21-22 and will be set to drill the Koigen well from August 22 until September 17.
Statoil Petroleum is the operator with an ownership interest of 60 percent. Other licensees are Dea Norge and Petoro, each holding 20 percent interest.
The area in this license consists of the blocks 7317/8 and 7317/9. The well will be drilled about 75 kilometers northwest of the discovery 7319/12-1 (Pingvin) and about 370 kilometers from Hammerfest.
Production license 718 was awarded in 2013 in the 22nd licensing round on the Norwegian shelf. This is the first well to be drilled in the license.
Offshore Energy Today Staff