Total has spudded an appraisal well on the Norvarg discovery in PL 535 in the Barents Sea.
The site lies in 377 metres of water about 275 kilometres north of the Hammerfest LNG plant on Melkøya. Being drilled by Ocean Rig’s Leiv Eiriksson semi-submersible drilling rig, it is expected to take 69-104 days.
The main objective of the well is to prove up the volume potential in the northeastern segment of the Norvarg closure.
The partners in the licence are Total (operator – 40 per cent interest), North Energy (20 per cent), Det Norske (20 per cent), Valiant Petroleum Norge (13 per cent) and Rocksource Exploration Norway (7 per cent).