Norwegian offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has given Statoil a consent to use the Bideford Dolphin rig for drilling and completing well 34/7-A-10 on the Snorre field in the North Sea.
The PSA said on Tuesday that drilling on Snorre was scheduled to begin on July 7, 2017, and would last 110 days.
Snorre is an oil field in the Tampen area of the North Sea, around 150 kilometers west of Florø. The field has been developed using two floating integrated production platforms, Snorre A and B, and one subsea template tied back to Snorre A. Production at the field began in 1992.
Bideford Dolphin is a mobile drilling rig of the Aker H-3 type operated by Dolphin Drilling. The rig was built at Aker Verdal in 1975 and modified in 1998. The facility is classified by DNV GL and registered in Singapore.
Bideford Dolphin was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in September 2004.
Statoil recently exercised an option for an additional well with the semi-submersible drilling unit. The contract value for the extension is approximately $17.2 million.