ConocoPhillips secures govt nod to spud Norwegian Sea wildcat

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted ConocoPhillips Skandinavia, a subsidiary of the U.S.-headquartered ConocoPhillips, a drilling permit for a wildcat well located in the Norwegian Sea.

The permit is for the well well 6306/3-2, located in production licence 935, which was awarded on 2 March 2018 and is valid until 2 March 2026.

As the operator of the licence with an ownership interest of 40 per cent, ConocoPhillips Skandinavia was granted consent last week to use the Transocean Norge rig for exploration drilling in block 6306/3 where the well is situated. Other licensees are Lundin Energy Norway (20 per cent), Petoro (20 per cent), and Petrolia NOCO (20 per cent).

The water depth at the site is 214 metres. The prospect – named Bounty – will be drilled approximately 58 km southwest of the Njord field and 59 km northwest of Smøla. According to information from the Norwegian Environment Agency, there are some coral deposits in the area. The operation start-up is planned for 27 June 2022 and the duration is estimated at 34 days.

Built by Sembcorp Marine at the Jurong Shipyard (JSPL) in Singapore between 2012 and 2016, the Transocean Norge rig is owned and operated by Transocean and it received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in July 2019.

Transocean was awarded a contract for four wells with five one-well options in June 2021 for the Transocean Norge rig. Based on the company’s fleet status report from April, this contract started in March 2022 and is scheduled to end in September 2022.

When it comes to ConocoPhillips’ most recent activity in Norway, the energy giant handed over another extension for maintenance and modification work on its North Sea fields to Aker Solutions earlier this month.