Statoil has received consent to use the Bideford Dolphin mobile drilling rig for production drilling at Vigdis oil field located in the Tampen area in the northern part of the North Sea.
Statoil is to plug the B-1 AH production well on the Vigdis field. Using a sidetrack from this well, a new well is to be drilled, B-1 BH.
The activities are to be undertaken using Bideford Dolphin, which is operated by Dolphin Drilling. Bideford Dolphin is a semi-submersible drilling rig, built at Aker Verdal in 1975 and modified in 1998.
Production at Vigdis began in 1997, with Saga Petroleum as the operator. Statoil took over operatorship in January 2003.
Vigdis is situated between the Snorre, Statfjord and Gullfaks fields. The water depth in the area is 280 metres. The field has been developed with seven subsea templates and two satellite wells connected to Snorre A. Oil from Vigdis is processed in a dedicated processing module on Snorre A. Injection water is supplied from Snorre A and Statfjord C. A PDO for Vigdis Extension, including the discovery 34/7-23 S and adjoining deposits, was approved in 2002. The PDO for Vigdis Nordøst was approved in 2011.