Equinor gets safety clearance to use ‘Songa Equinox’ on Troll field

Norwegian oil company Equinor has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use the Songa Equinox rig for production drilling on the Troll field in the North Sea.

The PSA said that Equinor would use the Songa Equinox to drill and complete production well 31/2-O-21 AYH on the Troll field.

According to the safety body, the consent covers the use of the controlled mud level method – formerly referred to as dual gradient drilling (DGD).

Songa Equinox is a Cat D semi-submersible drilling rig operated by Songa Offshore. The rig received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) on November 20, 2015. The Cat D mid-water semi-submersible rig concept was designed for efficient year around drilling, completion, testing and intervention operations in a harsh environment.

The Songa Equinox started drilling operations at the Troll field back in December 2015 under its eight-year drilling contract with Statoil.

As for the field, the Troll field is around 65 kilometers west of Kollsnes in Hordaland county. It has been developed using three integrated process and accommodation platforms, Troll A, B, and C, and subsea well templates tied back to the B and C platforms.

It is worth reminding that Equinor submitted its plan for further development of the Troll field to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The project entails capital expenditures of around NOK 7.8 billion ($960 million).

Equinor also signed contracts for the project within marine installations and subsea facilities worth a total of approximately NOK 750 million with Allseas, Nexans, and DeepOcean.