The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Eni Norge AS a drilling permit for well 7122/7-7 S, cf. Section 15 of the Resource Management Regulations.
The well will be drilled from the West Hercules drilling facility after concluding the drilling of wildcat well for Equinor Energy AS.
The drilling programme for well relates to the drilling of an appraisal well in production licence 229. Eni Norge AS, the exploration and production company in Norway, is the operator with an ownership interest of 65 per cent. The other licensee is Equinor Energy AS (35 percent).
The area in this licence consists of parts of blocks 7122/7, 8, 9 and 10. The well is drilled about 2.4 kilometres west of the discovery well on the Goliat field.
Production licence 229 was awarded in the Barents Sea Project in 1997. This is the eighth well to be drilled in the licence.
The permit is contingent on the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing the drilling activity.