The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Aker BP a drilling permit for well 25/11-29 S in production licence PL 916.
The well will be drilled from the Deepsea Stavanger drilling facility in position 59°02'48.44"N and 02°26'21.80"E after the rig has carried out well operations on the Volund field, including the drilling of a production well.
The drilling programme for well 25/11-29 S relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production licence 916, where Aker BP ASA is the operator with an ownership interest of 40 per cent. The other licensees are Equinor Energy AS, Lundin Norway AS and Petoro AS, each with 20 per cent.
The area in this licence consists of a part of blocks 25/11 and 16/2. The well will be drilled about 15 kilometres northeast of the Ivar Aasen field in the central part of the North Sea.
Production licence 916 was awarded on 2 March 2018 (APA 2017). This is the first exploration well in the licence, but five wildcat wells have been drilled earlier within the licence area.
The permit is contingent on the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing the drilling activity.