Statoil gets drilling permit for Korpfjell well

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted oil major Statoil a drilling permit for a Barents Sea wildcat well.

The well, designated 7435/12-1, will be drilled from the Songa Enabler drilling rig following the drilling of wildcat well 7325/4-1 located in the Gemini Nord prospect in the Hoop area.

The Gemini Nord well site lies in production license 855 some 275 kilometers from Nordkapp and 200 kilometers from Bjørnøya and is also drilled for Statoil.

The NPD said last Friday that the drilling program for well 7435/12-1, located in a prospect named Korpfjell, relates to drilling of a wildcat well in production license 859.

According to Statoil’s Barents Sea drilling schedule, the rig should have already completed its transit to Korpfjell which was scheduled for July 27 and 28. The drilling of Korpfjell is scheduled to last from July 28 to August 20.

The license is operated by Statoil with an ownership interest of 30 percent. The other licensees are Chevron and Petoro with 20 percent each, and ConocoPhillips and Lundin with 15 percent each.

The area in this license consists of blocks 7335/1, 7335/2, 7335/3, 7336/1, 7434/7, 7434/8, 7434/9, 7435/9, 7435/10, 7435/11, 7435/12, and 7436/10.

The well will be drilled about 320 km northeast of 7225/3-1 (Norvarg), about 365 kilometers northeast of the Wisting discovery well 7324/8-1 in production license 537, and about 415 km from the coast.

Production license 859 was awarded in the 23rd licensing round in 2016, and this will be the first well to be drilled in the license.

Offshore Energy Today reported in late June that Statoil received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority to use the Songa Enabler drilling rig for 7435/12-1 and 7435/12-U-1 Korpfjell wells. Earlier that month, the offshore safety body told Statoil to improve its plans for exploration drilling of the 7435/12-1 well.

During its drilling operations earlier this month, the Songa Enabler rig had an encounter with Greenpeace when eleven activists from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise took to the water in inflatable boats to protest against Statoil’s exploration activities in the Barents Sea. The activists were joined by actress Lucy Lawless, known for her role in the TV show Xena: Warrior Princess. At the time, the Songa Enabler had its sights set on the Gemini Nord license.

Offshore Energy Today Staff