North Sea wildcat on COSL rig’s drilling agenda for June

May 8, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor has secured a drilling permit for operations in the North Sea on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), which will be conducted with a semi-submersible rig owned by COSL Drilling Europe, an offshore drilling contractor.

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for the wellbore 34/10-56 S in production licence 050 HS, which is valid from April 11, 2012, up to September 10, 2031. The drilling operations are scheduled to begin in June 2026.

Equinor, as the operator of the license, owns a 70% interest, while its partner, Petoro, holds the remaining 30% stake. The permit comes shortly after the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) granted the company consent for exploration drilling in block 34/10 in the North Sea.

The well will be spud with COSL Drilling Europe’s COSL Innovator drilling rig, which Equinor booked in August 2023 for a two-year contract starting in the second quarter of 2025.

The rig deal entails extension options for three additional years. The 2012-built COSL Innovator semi-submersible rig is designed to operate in water depths of up to 750 meters.

Equinor is actively increasing its oil and gas output, as demonstrated by the start-up of production from a subsea tie-back development in the Norwegian North Sea.