Equinor gains consent to use Transocean rig for Norwegian Sea drilling

Norwegian oil major Equinor has received consent from the offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), for exploration drilling in the Norwegian Sea using the Transocean Spitsbergen rig.

The well, designated 6507/3-13, is located in production license 159B in the Norwegian Sea where Equinor is the operator. Equinor holds a 85 percent ownership interest while the remaining 15 percent is owned by Ineos E&P Norge.

Announcing its consent for the well on Monday, the offshore safety body said that the drilling was planned to start in early February 2019 and would last 81 days in a water depth of 368 meters.

The offshore watchdog added that the well was located 13 kilometers west of the Norne field.

The exploration well will be drilled by the Transocean Spitsbergen, a semi-submersible mobile drilling rig of the Aker H-6e type, owned and operated by Transocean Offshore.

The rig was built at the Aker Stord yard in 2009, is registered in the Marshall Islands, and classified by DNV GL. The rig was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AOC) by the PSA in November 2012.

The last time Offshore Energy Today reported on the rig was when the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate granted Equinor a drilling permit for a wildcat well in the North Sea.

The drilling of the wildcat using the Transocean Spitsbergen was planned to start in December 2018 and would last 35 days or 52 days if a discovery was made.