Norwegian subsidiary of Italian oil company Eni has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) for exploration drilling in the Barents Sea using the West Hercules rig.
The well, named 7122/7-7 S, is located in production license 229 in the Barents Sea where Eni Norge is the operator.
Announcing its consent for the well on Thursday, the offshore safety body said that the drilling was planned to start in November or December 2018 and would last 30 days.
The PSA added that the well was in a prospect named Goliat West in block 7122/7 and block 7122/10.
Eni Norge is the operator of the license, with a 65 percent interest while its partner Equinor holds the remaining 35 percent.
The license holds the Goliat oil field located some 85 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest. The field has been developed using a cylindrical FPSO. The wells are drilled from subsea templates which are tied back to the FPSO. Production at the field began in March 2016.
Well 7122/7-7 S will be drilled by the West Hercules mobile drilling rig. This is a semi-submersible drilling rigy of the GVA 7500 type, operated by North Atlantic Drilling.
West Hercules was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in December 2012.
Earlier this month the rig won a contract with Equinor for two exploration wells in the Barents Sea, starting in the spring of 2019. Equinor will have options to extend the contract for nine additional wells.