Equinor cleared for Skruis well in Barents Sea

Norwegian oil company Equinor has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill an exploration well off Norway using the Songa Enabler drilling rig.

The well, designated 7220/5-3, is located in production license 532 in the Barents Sea where Equinor is the operator.

Announcing its consent for the well on Wednesday, the offshore safety regulator informed that the drilling will investigate a prospect named Skruis.

According to the PSA, the exploration drilling will be done in block 7220/5, 215 kilometers northwest of Sørøya in Finnmark and around 150 kilometers northwest of the Goliat field.

The safety watchdog added that the drilling would begin in August 2018 and that it was estimated to last for 27 days.

The well will be drilled by the Songa Enabler semi-submersible CAT D drilling rig. It was delivered by the Daewoo yard in South Korea in 2016, is registered in Norway and classified by DNV-GL.

The rig was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in July 2016.

It is worth reminding that the PSA gave another consent to Equinor on Tuesday for exploration drilling in the Barents Sea with the West Hercules drilling rig. The consent covers drilling of exploration well 7132/2-1 in production license 857 in block 7132/2 in the eastern Barents Sea.