Oil firms get consents to use Odfjell Drilling rig duo off Norway

Norway’s safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has given Equinor and Wintershall Dea consents to use two Odfjell Drilling rigs for work offshore Norway.

PSA said on Wednesday that it gave Equinor consent to use Deepsea Atlantic drilling rig for plugging, drilling, and completion of wells on the Sigyn and Sleipner fields.

Sigyn is a field in the central part of the North Sea, 12 kilometres southeast of the Sleipner Øst field. The water depth in the area is 70 metres. Sigyn was discovered in 1982, and the plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 2001. The field is developed with a subsea template tied back to Sleipner Øst. Production started in 2002.

The Sleipner area, also located in the North Sea, embraces the gas and condensate fields Sleipner Øst, Gungne, and Sleipner Vest. The Sleipner installations are also processing hydrocarbons from the tie-in fields Sigyn, Volve, Gudrun, and from 2017 rich gas from Gina Krog.

The rig which will be used – the Deepsea Atlantic – is a sixth generation deepwater and harsh environment semi-submersible rig capable of operating at water depths of up to 3,000 meters.

In a separate announcement, PSA stated that it gave Wintershall Dea consent to use the Deepsea Aberdeen for production drilling and completion of wells on the Vega field.

The Vega field is located in the northern part of the North Sea, 28 kilometres west of the Gjøa field. The water depth in the area is 370 metres.

The field has been developed with three subsea templates with four slots, tied to the processing facility on the Gjøa field. Production started in 2010.

The Deepsea Aberdeen, which will work on the Vega field, is an enhanced GVA7500 harsh environment design semi-submersible drilling rig. The unit is designed for operations at water depths of up to 3,000 metres. Both rigs in question are operated by Odfjell Drilling.