OMV Norge, a subsidiary of Austria’s oil and gas company OMV, has received consent from Norway’s offshore safety regulator for exploration drilling in the North Sea off Norway, using one of the rigs managed by Odfjell Drilling.
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) revealed on Thursday, 26 January 2023, that it had given OMV consent for exploration drilling in block 15/2 in the North Sea for the well 15/2-2 S. This consent also applies to the drilling of side-tracks 15/2-2 A and 15/2-2 B. The consent comes a week after OMV obtained a drilling permit for the wells 15/2-2 S and 15/2-2 A from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).
The prospect, Eirik , is located in production licence 817 , which was awarded on 5 February 2016 and is valid until 5 February 2026. OMV Norge acts as the operator of this licence with an ownership interest of 50 per cent, while other licensees are Neptune Energy (30 per cent) and Source Energy (20 per cent).
The drilling operations, which will be undertaken by the Deepsea Yaintai rig, are expected to start in the first quarter of 2023. The well 15/2-2 S is scheduled to be spudded in January 2023 and the well 15/2-2 A is slated to be drilled in March 2023.
The 2019-built Deepsea Yantai rig – formerly known as the Beacon Atlantic – is capable of harsh environment operation. This rig, which is of a GM4D design, is owned by China’s CIMC and managed by Odfjell Drilling.
OMV Norge hired this semi-submersible rig in September 2022 for drilling operations in the North Sea, which include one firm well, plus one optional well in 2023 or 2024. As explained at the time, the scope of the firm work, estimated to take 60 days, would begin in 1Q 2023.