Statoil gets approval to drill Barents Sea well

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Statoil Petroleum AS a drilling permit for well 7325/1-1, in the Barents Sea.

The well 7325/1-1 will be drilled from the Transocean Spitsbergen semi-submersible drilling rig at position 73°54’49.50″north and 25°06’59.70″east.

The drilling programme for well 7325/1-1 relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production licence 615. Statoil Petroleum AS is the operator with a 35 per cent ownership interest.

The other licensees are ConocoPhillips Scandinavia AS with 25 per cent, OMV (Norge) AS with 20 per cent and Petoro AS with 20 per cent. The area in this licence consists of blocks 7324/1, 2, 3 and 7325/1.

Production licence 615 was awarded on 13 May 2011 in the 21st licensing round on the Norwegian shelf. This is the second well to be drilled in the licence.

Greenpeace protests

Drilling in the Hoop area has spurred protests by Greenpeace who claim that an oil spill there could harm the nearby Bear Island. Protesting against Statoil’s drilling in the licence, on the morning of 27 May Greenpeace activists boarded the drilling rig Transocean Spitsbergen. They were later removed from the rig by police.

Statoil plans to drill three wells in the Hoop area this summer, on the Apollo, Atlantis and Mercury prospects.