Path clear for Odfjell Drilling’s rig to spud North Sea wildcat in August

June 29, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor has secured a drilling permit for operations in the North Sea on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), which will be conducted with a semi-submersible rig owned by Odfjell Drilling, an offshore drilling contractor.

Deepsea Bergen rig; Source: Odfjell Drilling

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for the wellbore 30/8-7 S in production license 190, which is valid from September 9, 1993, until the same date in 2032.

Equinor is the operator of the licence with a 50% interest, with its partners, Petoro and TotalEnergies EP Norge, holding the remaining 40% and 10% stakes, respectively.

The drilling activities will be undertaken with Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Bergen, formerly Deepsea Bollsta, semi-submersible rig.

View on Offshore-energy.

The 2019-built rig, which can accommodate 180 people, is equipped with a full conventional mooring spread for operations in water depths of 70 to 500 meters.

This drilling permit comes shortly after the Norwegian giant handed out a proposed program for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of a potential field development in the Barents Sea for public consultation.