All systems go for Equinor’s drilling ops with Transocean and COSL rigs

October 13, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor has secured the go-ahead from the Norwegian authorities for drilling activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), which will be undertaken with semi-submersible rigs owned by Transocean and COSL Drilling Europe, two offshore drilling contractors.

Norway continues to take steps to search for more oil and gas to increase hydrocarbon activity, as illustrated by the interest shown in blocks that were on offer in the award in pre-defined areas 2025 (APA 2025) round for oil and gas exploration compared to APA 2024.

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has now given Equinor consent to use the Transocean Encourage rig on the Åsgard field in the central part of the Norwegian Sea, where the water depth in the area is 240-300 meters.

Discovered in 1981, with the plan for development and operation (PDO) approved in 1996, the field has been developed with subsea wells tied back to a production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO), Åsgard A.

While the development also includes Åsgard B, a floating, semi-submersible facility for gas and condensate processing, the gas center is connected to a storage vessel for condensate, Åsgard C. Production from Åsgard A began in 1999, while Åsgard B and C came on stream in 2000.

The 2016-built Transocean Encourage semi-submersible rig, which was hired on a nine-well contract, with six more optional wells, in 2023 for work on the NCS, can accommodate up to 130 people.

This is a sixth-generation fully winterized, harsh environment semi-submersible rig with automated drilling control specially designed for operations on the NCS.

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Aside from the consent for drilling operations at Åsgard, the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority also granted Equinor consent to carry out exploration drilling in block 6507/8 in the Norwegian Sea’s production license 124 B.

As a result, the well 6507/8-12 S, known as the Othello South prospect, situated in a water depth of 374 meters, will be drilled with the COSL Innovator rig. Equinor hired the COSL Innovator rig in August 2023 for a two-year contract, starting in the second quarter of 2025.

The available extension options can expand the assignment by three additional years. The 2012-built semi-submersible rig, which is of GM4000 design, is designed to operate in water depths up to 750 meters.

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Equinor also obtained the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority’s consent for exploration drilling in block 7018/5 in the Barents Sea’s production license 1236. This will enable the well 7018/5-2, known as the Vikingskipet prospect, in a water depth of 308 meters, to be drilled with the COSL Prospector rig.

This consent also entails drilling of a pilot hole 7018/5-U-9. The rig, which won a two-year contract in September 2023, with three years of extension options for a maximum duration of five years, builds on the cooperation between Vår Energi and Equinor, enabling the duo to secure access to the rig for the 2024-2026 period.

With a maximum drilling depth of 7,500 meters, the COSL Prospector rig is of GG5000 design and can operate in water depths up to 1,500 meters.