Statoil to drill Julius with jack-up ‘Maersk Gallant’

Statoil has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway to drill exploration well 2/4-23 in the southern part of the North Sea.

Statoil is the operator for exploration licences 146 and 333 in block 2/4 in the southern part of the North Sea. Exploration well 2/4-23 is to be drilled in a prospect called Julius.

The site is 15 km north of the Ekofisk field and around 260 km from the closest land. Water depth at the site is approx. 68 meters.

The PSA says that the drilling is scheduled to begin in late December 2014 and estimated to last 154 days. According to the PSA, a possible sidetrack, designated 2/4-23 A, will take a further 67 days.

Drilling will be performed using the Maersk Gallant jack-up drilling rig, built at Far East Levingston Shipbuilding (FELS) in Singapore in 1993. The rig is operated by Maersk Contractors Norge A/S. It was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in August 2002.

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