OMV to Drill Hades Appraisal Well with Island Innovator Rig in June

OMV Norway has applied for an environmental permit to drill the Hades appraisal well in the Norwegian Sea about 280 kilometers north of Kristiansund.

The subsidiary of Austria's OMV plans to use the Island Innovator semi-submersible drilling rig to drill the Hades appraisal well in the Production License PL644 in the Norwegian Sea. OMV made the gas and condensate discovery in the block in 2018.

The preliminary estimates indicated a discovery size of 40 to 245 million barrels of oil equivalent.

According to the application with the Norwegian Environment Agency, subsea surveys have shown coral deposits at the site. Still, these are not expected to be damaged as a result of the activity. Drilling is planned to begin on June 1, 2020, at the earliest. 

Water depth at the site is 434 meters, and the drilling is expected to last around 66 days in case the well proves to be dry. In case of a discovery, the operation will take some 98 days.

As for the rig to be used, Island Innovator is a semi-submersible drilling rig owned by Island Drilling. OMV, in December 2019, chartered the rig for the Hades well and will have an option to extend the contract for up to three wells.

OMV in June last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Equinor related to the Hades/Iris gas discovery.

Under the memorandum, the two companies have committed to cooperate on finding the best solution for the development and tie-in of Hades/Iris to existing infrastructure, given the proximity of producing fields where Equinor is the operator.