Norway’s Statoil has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use the Askeladden Cat-J jack-up rig for drilling activities on the Gullfaks Sør field off Norway.
To remind, the PSA conducted an audit last week to see how Statoil was ensuring that the Askeladden rig was suitable for use on the Gullfaks field.
PSA said on Wednesday that the consent covers drilling, sidetrack drilling, completion, recompletion, plugging and well interventions at Gullfaks Sør.
The oil and gas field is in the northern North Sea, located south of the Gullfaks field. The field comprises the Gullfaks Sør, Gullveig, Rimfaks, Rimfaksdalen, and Skinfaks deposits, and has been developed using a total of 13 subsea well templates which are tied back to the Gullfaks A and Gullfaks C platforms.
Production at the Gullfaks Sør field began in 1998. Water depth in the area is 130-220 meters.
According to the PSA, drilling is scheduled to begin in October/November 2017. The consent applies until November 2025.
As for the rig, the Askeladden is the first of two Cat-J rigs Samsung Heavy Industries has built for Statoil. The other rig is named the Askepott.
Ordered in 2013, the new category J rigs will be able to operate in harsh environments at water depths from 70 to 140 meters and drill wells with lengths up to 10,000 meters. The primary use will be drilling and completion of production wells.
The new jack-up rig is owned by Statoil while KCA Deutag Drilling Norge (KCAD) is the operator. The Askeladden was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in October 2017.