Statoil has been given consent by the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use the Songa Equinox drilling rig to drill a well on the Troll field in the North Sea.
The well named 31/2-S-24 AY1H is located on the Troll field which is some 65 kilometers west of Kollsnes in Hordaland County, dubbed as the largest gas discovery made in the North Sea.
The safety watchdog has now granted consent to Statoil to use the Songa Equinox on the Troll field in accordance with its application.
The PSA said on Thursday that the consent was an extended consent to use the controlled mud level method, formerly referred to as dual gradient drilling (DGD).
The offshore safety body added that the expected start-up was scheduled for late September 2017 and expected to last 75 days.
Songa Equinox is a Cat D semi-submersible drilling rig operated by Songa Offshore. The rig received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) on November 20, 2015. The Cat D mid-water semi-submersible rig concept was designed for efficient year around drilling, completion, testing and intervention operations in a harsh environment.
The Songa Equinox started drilling operations at the Troll field back in December 2015 under its eight-year drilling contract with Statoil.