Oil major Shell has received consent from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) for exploration drilling in the North Sea with the Scarabeo 8 drilling rig.
The safety agency said on Friday that Shell has received consent for exploration drilling of well 34/5-2 S in production license 373 S in the North Sea where Shell is the operator.
The purpose of the exploration well 34/5-2 S is to investigate a prospect named Tyttebær.
This location is around 11 kilometers south-east of the Knarr field and 129 kilometers west of Florø. Water depth at the site is 387 meters.
According to the PSA, the drilling operations will begin between June and August 2018 and are expected to last for 92 days if hydrocarbons are proved, and 58 days if the well is dry.
Drilling is to be carried out using the Scarabeo 8 drilling rig. This is a semi-submersible drilling rig of the Moss CS50 MKII type, operated by Saipem Norge. It was built in Russia and Italy and commissioned in 2012. The facility is classified by DNV GL and registered in the Bahamas.
Scarabeo 8 was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in May 2012.
Shell hired the Scarabeo 8 semi-sub last December for a term of two months. The oil major then in April exercised an option for one well it had as part of the contract assigned and announced in December.