Wellesley set to drill North Sea well with Transocean rig

Wellesley Petroleum has received consent from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to carry out exploration drilling in the North Sea using a Transocean-owned semi-submersible rig.

The well 35/11-21 S is located in production license 248 I in the North Sea off Norway where Wellesley is the operator.

The safety agency said on Tuesday it has now given Wellesley its consent to drill the exploration well 35/11-21 S, which aims to investigate a prospect named “Grosbeak West”.

According to the PSA, drilling is planned to begin on July 1, 2018, with a duration of around 76 days, depending on whether a discovery is made.

The well is to be drilled by Transocean Arctic, which is a semi-submersible mobile drilling rig of the Marosso 56 type, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan in 1987. It is classified by DNV GL and registered in the Marshall Islands.

The rig is operated by Transocean and received Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in July 2004.

The well is the third and last self-operated well for Wellesley Petroleum to be drilled by Transocean Arctic.