Gears in motion for Aker BP to spud North Sea prospects with Odfjell rig

Norwegian oil and gas player Aker BP has received consent from the country’s offshore safety regulator for exploration drilling in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, using Odfjell Drilling’s semi-submersible rig.

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) recently gave Aker BP consent for exploration drilling in blocks 30/12 in the North Sea. The first prospect, Surtsey, entails the spudding of the well 30/12-3 S. The activities at the second prospect, Jolnir, include the drilling of a side track well 30/12-3 A while operations at the third prospect, Brandur, are related to a potential side track well 30/12-3 B.

These activities will be undertaken in a water depth of 106 metres within production licenses 272 B and 272 D, where Aker BP (50 per cent) is the operator with Equinor (50 per cent) as a technical service provider (TSP).

The drilling work will be carried out with the Deepsea Stavanger semi-submersible rig, which received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in April 2017. Equinor hired this rig in May 2021 for a firm period of three wells. The rig’s contract with the Norwegian player started in February 2022.

Furthermore, the company added additional wells to the contract for the rig in September 2021, March 2022, May 2022, at the start and end of July 2022, September 2022, and May 2023. These wells are expected to keep the rig booked into the first quarter of 2024.

The 2010-built Deepsea Stavanger rig is a sixth-generation deepwater and harsh environment semi-submersible of an enhanced GVA 7500 design. It is capable of working at water depths of up to 3,000 metres. It has eight mooring lines and can accommodate 157 people. The rig’s drilling depth capacity is 10,670 metres.