Equinor set to drill Barents Sea well

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Equinor a drilling permit for well 7132/2-2 located in the Barents Sea, offshore Norway. 

The drilling program for well 7132/2-2 relates to the drilling of wildcat wells in production license 857.

The well 7132/2-2 will be drilled from the West Hercules semi-submersible drilling rig after concluding the drilling of wildcat well 7132/2-1 for Equinor, also in production license 857.

Equinor has already received consent from the Norwegian offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), to use the West Hercules rig to drill this well.

Equinor Energy is the operator of the license with an ownership interest of 40 per cent. Other licensees are Aker BP (20 per cent), Lundin Norway (20 per cent) and Petoro (20 per cent). The area in this license consists of parts of blocks 7232/10, 7132/1,2,6 and 7133/4 and the southern part of blocks 7132/3 and 7133/1. The well will be drilled about 175 kilometers north of Vardø.

Production license 857 was awarded on June 10, 2016, in the 23rd licensing round on the Norwegian Shelf. This is the second well to be drilled in the license.