The Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has granted Equinor two drilling permits for wildcat wells in the North Sea.
The first permit is for wellbore 34/4-19 S in production license 057, operated by Equinor with 31% working interest.
Other partners in the license include Petoro 30%, Harbour Energy Norge 24.5%, INPEX Idemitsu Norge 9.6%, and Vår Energi 4.9%.
The drilling operation will be conducted with Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Atlantic semi-submersible drilling rig.
Deepsea Atlantic rig is sixth generation deepwater and harsh environment unit, which can operate at water depths of up to 3,000 meters.
The dual derrick, dynamic-positioned rig incorporates enhanced GVA 7500 designs. Its maximum drilling capacity is 10,670 meters
The second permit Equinor secured from NOD is for the exploration well 34/6-9 S in production license 554.
Equinor is the operator of the license with 40% working interest, with partners Aker BP and Vår Energi each holding 30% stakes.
The drilling will be done using COSL’s COSLInnovator semi-submersible drilling rig.
The rig is able to operate in water depths up to 750 meters and is designed for North Sea, Norwegian Sea and worldwide use in harsh environments.