Norway’s offshore regulator the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has given its consent to Spirit Energy to drill an exploration well in the North Sea using the Songa Enabler drilling rig.
Spirit Energy will drill the exploration well named 35/9-14 in production license 682 located in the North Sea off Norway. The well will be drilled in a prospect named Tethys.
Spirit Energy is the operator for production license 682 with an ownership interest of 30 per cent. Other licensees are Capricorn Norge (30 per cent), Petoro (20 per cent) and Wellesley Petroleum (20 per cent). The area in this license consists of the central and northwestern parts of block 35/9.
Spirit has already picked up its drilling permit for the well from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).
Spirit Energy received consent for exploration well 35/9-13 in 2017, but had to plug this well due to technical problems. The well 35/9-14 will be identical to well 35/9-13, but 30 meters away from it. Water depth at the site is 365 meters.
Drilling is scheduled to begin in January 2018 and will last 30 days. A possible sidetrack and well testing will be in addition.
The well is to be drilled by Songa Enabler, which is a semi-submersible drilling rig of the Cat D type. It was delivered by the Daewoo yard in South Korea in 2016, is registered in Norway, and classified by DNV-GL.
Songa Enabler was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in July 2016.