Green light for MOL to use Deepsea Bergen rig on North Sea well

Hungarian operator MOL has received consent from the offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), for exploration drilling in the North Sea using the Deepsea Bergen drilling rig.

Deepsea Bergen; Source: CCB
Deepsea Bergen; Source: CCB

The well, designated 25/8-19 S, is located in production license 820 in the North Sea where MOL’s Norwegian subsidiary, MOL Norge, is the operator.

MOL Norge holds a 40 percent ownership interest while its partners Lundin, Wintershall, and Pandion Energy hold 30, 20, and 10 percent respectively.

The well, given the prospect name of Evra/Iving, will be drilled in the central North Sea in a water depth of 125 meters.

The PSA said on Thursday that the drilling was scheduled to begin on September 25 and expected to last 44 days.

According to the offshore safety watchdog, the well will be drilled using the Deepsea Bergen rig.

Deepsea Bergen is a semi-submersible mobile drilling rig of the Aker H-3.2 type, built at Aker Verdal in 1983. It is owned and operated by Odfjell Drilling. The rig is classified by DNV GL and is registered in Norway.

Deepsea Bergen received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in December 2001.

It is worth reminding that Odfjell Drilling signed a letter of intent for the rig with MOL Norge for one exploration well in October 2018. The deal was set to be in direct continuation of the contract with OMV Norge and expire in 3Q/4Q 2019. The contract value was estimated at $9 million, plus potential incentive bonus.


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