Thumbs-up for Equinor’s drilling ops with Transocean rig

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has secured a drilling permit for an exploration well in the Norwegian Sea, which will be drilled using a semi-submersible rig owned by Transocean, an offshore drilling contractor.

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for the wellbore 6506/12-PB-3 H in production license 094, which was awarded on March 9, 1984, and is valid until April 10, 2027.

Equinor is the operator of the production license and holds a 40.95% interest, while the rest is held by its partners, Vår Energi (34.3%), Petoro (14.95%), and TotalEnergies EP Norge (9.8%).

The drilling of the wildcat well, which will be carried out using the Transocean Encourage semi-submersible rig, is planned to start in July 2025.

The rig secured a nine-well contract, with six more optional wells, in 2023 for work on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

The semi-submersible’s drilling assignment in the Norwegian Sea covers the Tyrihans, Verdande, Andvare, and Vigdis fields, with Verdande and Andvare expected to be tied into the Norne field.

The 2016-built Transocean Encourage rig is of GVA 4000 NCS design and can accommodate up to 130 people.

This is a sixth-generation fully winterized, harsh environment semi-submersible rig with automated drilling control specially designed for operations on the NCS.

This drilling permit comes shortly after Equinor secured another one in the North Sea off Norway’s coast for drilling activities with one of Odfjell Drilling’s semi-submersible rigs.