Aker BP Gets Green Light for Norwegian Offshore Well

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has approved Aker BP’s application to drill the first exploration well in licence area 762 in the Norwegian Sea.

The approval follows the issue of a drilling permit by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). It applies to the drilling of exploration well 6608/6-1 – named Vagar. 

Aker BP holds a 20% interest in the licence and is the operator. Norwegian state-controlled Equinor holds 60%. Petoro – manager for hydrocarbon assets held directly by the Norwegian state – owns the remaining 20%.

The drilling location is around 100 km northeast of the Skarv field and 170 km south-west of Rostoyan. Water depth at the site is 288 metres. Drilling is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2019 and is expected to last 27 days.

The well will be drilled by Deepsea Stavanger, a semi-submersible mobile drilling facility of the GVA 7500 type built in South Korea in 2010. It is owned and operated by Odfjell Drilling.