Oil major Shell is set to spud the high-impact Pensacola well in the North Sea next month, Deltic Energy, Shell's partner in the project, said Tuesday.
Shell informed Deltic Energy that preparations were underway to move the Maersk Resilient jack-up drilling rig to the Pensacola location.
The rig move is planned to start in early November, with the well expected to be spudded in mid-November.
"The company looks forward to providing a further update when the rig is on site at Pensacola and drilling has commenced," Deltic Energy said Tuesday.
Back in June, Shell struck a deal to hire the harsh-environment jack-up rig Maersk Resilient rig from Maersk Drilling (now part of Noble Corp.)
Maersk Drilling said at the time that the Shell contract would last about two months. Deltic said at the time of the rig contract signing that the well would be spudded in September, but this has now been put off for mid-November.
Deltic, previously known as Cluff Natural Resources, estimates that the Pensacola prospect, in License P2252, contains gross P50 Prospective Resources of 309 BCF with a 55% geological chance of success, "which will rank Pensacola as one of the highest impact exploration targets to be drilled in the gas basin in recent years."
According to Deltic, the Pensacola well is also being highly anticipated by the industry for its potential to unlock a significant new source of gas to the UK from the Zechstein Reef play, which has been successfully produced in NW Europe from Poland to The Netherlands.
"[Pensacola] also has the potential to demonstrate that the UK still has a significant level of previously unrecognized exploration upside which can deliver cost-competitive natural gas to UK-based businesses and homes and support the UK's Net Zero targets," Deltic said previously.