Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor has secured a drilling permit for operations in the North Sea on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), which will be undertaken with a semi-submersible rig owned by COSL Drilling Europe, an offshore drilling contractor.
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for the wellbore 25/9-5 S in production license 1042 , which is valid from February 14, 2020, until November 14, 2029.
Equinor is the operator of the license with a 30% interest, with its partners, Aker BP and Vår Energi, holding the remaining 40% and 30% stakes, respectively. The drilling activities will be undertaken with COSL Drilling Europe’s COSL Innovator rig.
The wellbore 25/9-5 S is expected to be drilled in November 2026. The Norwegian state-owned giant booked the COSL Innovator rig in August 2023 for a two-year contract, starting in the second quarter of 2025.
The rig deal comes with extension options for three additional years. The 2012-built semi-submersible rig is designed to operate in water depths up to 750 meters.
Last month, Equinor and Aker BP made a gas/condensate discovery in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, using the same semi-submersible rig.