Statoil to use ‘Transocean Leader’ for Krafla wells

The Norwegian petroleum safety watchdog has given approval for Statoil to use the Transocean Leader semi-submersible drilling rig for North Sea wells.

The Petroleum Safety Authority has said that the consent covers the drilling of wildcat well 30/11-10 “Krafla North” and appraisal well 30/11-10 A “Krafla Main”.

It is planned to drill from the same surface location, with appraisal well 30/11-10 A being drilled as a sidetrack.

The location is in the North Sea, 22 km from the Oseberg Sør facility and 2.2 km from the oil and gas discovery 30/11-8 S (Krafla), which was drilled in 2011.

Water depth at the site is 104 metres. The earliest start to drilling is set at mid-October 2014. The activity is estimated to last 78 days.

Transocean Leader is a semi-submersible drilling rig delivered in 1987 by Hyundai Heavy Industries of Korea. The rig is operated by Transocean and received Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in December 2004.