Equinor granted permit for North Sea well

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Equinor a drilling permit for a wildcat well located in the North Sea offshore Norway. 

The well 35/10-5, named Gabriel, will be drilled from the West Hercules semi-submersible drilling rig. Equinor has already gained consent from the Norwegian safety authority to drill this well using the West Hercules rig.

It is also worth reminding that the West Hercules has recently completed the drilling of confirmation well 31/5-7 Eos south of the Troll field in the North Sea as part of the Northern Lights project. It has been determined that the Cook and Johansen Formations are good candidates for CO2 storage, but the decision has not been made yet.

Back to the current well, the NPD said on Tuesday that the drilling program for well 35/10-5 relates to the drilling of wildcat wells in production license 827 S. Equinor is the operator with an ownership interest of 70 percent. Other licensee is DNO Norge with the remaining 30 percent.

The area in this license consists of parts of block 35/10. The well will be drilled about 11 kilometers southwest of the Vega field.

Production license 827 S was awarded on February 5, 2016 (APA 2015). This is the first well to be drilled in the license.

The permit is contingent on the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing the drilling activity.

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