OMV exploration drilling marks Odfjell rig’s return to Norwegian waters

OMV Norge, a Norwegian subsidiary of Austria-headquartered oil and gas player OMV, has started drilling an exploration well in the Norwegian Sea using a semi-submersible rig managed by Odfjell Drilling.

According to OMV Norge, as the operator of production license PL 1194, the drilling of the Hoffmann exploration well (6606/4-1 S&A) in the Norwegian Sea has commenced. Located near the Aasta Hansteen field in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea, the Hoffman well sits at a water depth of 883 meters.

The Odfjell Drilling-managed Deepsea Bollsta was picked to get the job done. As disclosed, if a discovery is made, the drilling operation could extend up to 105 days.

“This well follows up on last year’s Haydn gas discovery. The exploration campaign aligns with our strategy to increase the share of gas as a transition fuel in our production portfolio,” said Jone Hess, General Manager of OMV Norge.

OMV Norge AS holds a 40% working interest in PL 1194, with license partners INPEX, Idemitsu Norge, and Vår Energi each holding a 30% working interest. The Norwegian Ministry of Energy awarded the license in the 2022 APA licensing round.

Last August, wildcat well 6605/6-1 S targeting the Haydn/Monn exploration prospects led to a gas discovery with estimated recoverable volumes between 30 and 140 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

The OMV campaign kicks off a new chapter for the Deepsea Bollsta, marking the rig’s return to the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This follows the 2.5-year ultra-deepwater campaign offshore Namibia, while a two-year firm contract with Equinor is waiting ahead.

A short-term assignment for the rig with what was then an undisclosed operator on the NCS was announced by its owner, Northern Ocean, in October 2024.

The 2020-built Deepsea Bollsta sixth-generation semi-submersible rig is of Moss CS60E design and can accommodate 140 people. It can carry out operations in both benign and harsh environments at water depths of up to 3,000 meters.