Aker BP picks up drilling permit for North Sea appraisal well

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Aker BP a drilling permit for an appraisal well located in the North Sea offshore Norway. 

The well will be drilled from the Scarabeo 8 drilling rig after completing the drilling of wildcat well 24/9-14 S in the central part of the North Sea.

The drilling program for well 24/9-14 A relates to drilling of appraisal wells in production license 869, where Aker BP is the operator with an ownership interest of 60 percent. Other licensees are Lundin Norway (20 percent) and Point Resources (20 percent).

The area in this license consists of parts of blocks 24/9, 24/12 and 25/7. The well will be drilled about four kilometers northwest of the Bøyla field in the central part of the North Sea.

Production license 869 was awarded on February 10, 2017 (APA 2016). This is the third exploration well to be drilled in the license itself, but several wildcat wells have been drilled previously within the license area.