The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Aker BP a drilling permit for two appraisal wells in the North Sea offshore Norway.
The NPD said on Tuesday that wells 25/4-12 S and 25/4-12 A would be drilled from the Deepsea Stavanger drilling rig following the drilling of appraisal well 7221/12-1 in the Barents Sea.
Aker BP previously received consent from the offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority, for the use of the Deepsea Stavanger rig on the two wells.
The wells are located in production license 203 in the North Sea where Aker BP is the operator with an ownership interest of 65 percent. The other licensees are ConocoPhillips Skandinavia with 20 percent and Lundin Norway with 15 percent.
The area in this license consists of the southwestern part of block 25/4 and minor parts of blocks 24/6 and 25/7. The wells will be drilled about eight kilometers in the southeast of the Alvheim field.
Production license 203 was awarded on February 2, 1996, in the 15th licensing round on the Norwegian shelf. These are the eighth and ninth exploration wells to be drilled in the license.