GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS has received consent to carry out exploration drilling of well 7124/4-1S&A in the Barents Sea with the Aker Barents mobile facility.
The consent relates to the drilling of an exploration well in production licence 530, with a possible sidetrack. The well is located approx. 53 nautical miles north of Hammerfest and approx. 95 nautical miles north-northwest of Banak.
The well has the following coordinates: N 71° 35′ 16.159″, E 24° 5′ 56.842″. The water depth at the site is approx. 302 metres.
Drilling is scheduled to start in August 2011. The duration of the activity is estimated at approx. 55 days (plus another 22 days in the event of a sidetrack).
Aker Barents is a so-called 6th generation semi-submersible drilling facility constructed according to the H-6e concept for drilling operations at water depths of up to 3000 metres and in Arctic regions.
The facility was delivered as a new construction during the summer of 2009, built by Aker Solutions at the Stord yard in Norway.
Aker Barents received the PSA’s Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) on 10 July 2009.
[mappress] Source: PTIL, July 12, 2011;