Equinor cleared to kick off drilling ops with Transocean’s rig next month

September 1, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has obtained a drilling permit for an exploration well in the Norwegian Sea, which will be drilled using a semi-submersible rig owned by Transocean, an offshore drilling contractor.

Transocean Encourage rig; Source: Transocean

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has granted Equinor a drilling permit for the wellbore 6407/1-B-2 H in production license 1121, which was awarded on April 23, 1982, and is valid until December 31, 2029.

Equinor is the operator of the production license and holds a 36.247% interest, while the rest is held by its partners, TotalEnergies EP Norge (29.143%), Petoro (22.52%), and Vår Energi (12.09%).

The drilling of the wildcat well, which will be undertaken using the Transocean Encourage semi-submersible rig, is planned to begin in October 2025. The rig secured a nine-well contract, with six more optional wells, in 2023 for work on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

The semi-submersible’s drilling assignment in the Norwegian Sea encompasses the Tyrihans, Verdande, Andvare, and Vigdis fields, with Verdande and Andvare expected to be tied into the Norne field.

The 2016-built Transocean Encourage rig of GVA 4000 NCS design, which can accommodate up to 130 people, is a sixth-generation fully winterized, harsh environment semi-submersible rig with automated drilling control specially designed for operations on the NCS.