Canadian authorities have approved BP’s plans to drill a sidetrack well at the Aspy D-11 well site, offshore Nova Scotia.
BP will be using Seadrill’s West Aquarius drilling rig to drill a secondary well away from the original well. The rig will not be changing position for the sidetrack well. The well is located approximately 330 kilometers southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The same surface location and infrastructure (including wellhead) from Aspy D-11 will be used for the sidetrack well (Aspy D-11A). However, instead of continuing to drill down vertically, drilling will step out slightly to one side, BP said.
The lower portion of the Aspy D-11 wellbore that the sidetrack is diverting from has been cemented and plugged, and preparations are underway to begin sidetracking.
A 500-meter radius safety (exclusion) zone is in place around the West Aquarius where non-Project vessels are prohibited. The safety (exclusion) zone will be monitored by the standby vessel, the Horizon Star (call sign: CFA2459).
The British oil company late in July resumed drilling operations at the Aspy D-11 well location after having stopped earlier due to the discovery of a subsea leak.
The repairs and integrity testing were since completed and it was determined that the cause of the leak was a loose connection of the booster line on the riser.