Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor has obtained the go-ahead from the Norwegian authorities for drilling activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), which will be undertaken with a semi-submersible rig managed by Odfjell Drilling and owned by Northern Ocean.
The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has granted Equinor consent to use the Deepsea Bollsta rig for production drilling, completion, temporary plugging, and workover on the Johan Sverdrup field.
Covering an area of 200 square kilometers, the Johan Sverdrup field is located in the central part of the North Sea, 160 kilometers west of Stavanger, at a water depth of 110–120 meters.
Equinor is its operator and 42.62% interest holder, with partners Aker BP (31.6%), Petoro (17.36%), and TotalEnergies EP Norge (8.44%). The consent comes after the Norwegian giant extended the 2019-built rig’s contract to allow it to complete an eight-well program at the field.
The firm has more one-year options left thanks to a two-year firm contract which the rig begun on August 31, 2025. The Deepsea Bollsta sixth-generation semi-submersible rig of Moss CS60E design can operate in both benign and harsh environments at water depths of up to 3,000 meters.