Statoil has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use the Deepsea Atlantic rig for drilling and completion of production wells on the Visund field offshore Norway.
Visund is an oil and gas field located east of the Snorre field in the northern sector of the North Sea. The development comprises a semi-submersible, integrated quarters, drilling and processing facility in steel (Visund A).
Production began in 1999. The northern part of Visund has been developed using a subsea template, around 10 kilometers north of Visund A.
Statoil has now received consent to use the Deepsea Atlantic mobile drilling rig for drilling and completion of two production wells (wells 34/8 D-2H and 34/8 D-4H/AH) in the northern part of the field. Water depth at the site is 378 meters.
The drilling operations are scheduled to begin in early March and are expected to last 165 days.
Deepsea Atlantic is a semi-submersible drilling rig of the MODU GVA 7500 type. The rig is operated by Odfjell Drilling. Deepsea Atlantic was completed in 2009. It is registered in Norway and is classified by DNV GL.
Deepsea Atlantic was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in July 2009.