Equinor all set for North Sea oil & gas exploration ops with Odfjell Drilling rig

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has received the go-ahead from the country’s authorities to use one of Odfjell Drilling’s semi-submersible rigs for drilling operations at a block in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has given Equinor consent for exploration drilling in block 24/11 in the North Sea. This block is located in production license 169, awarded on March 1, 1991, and valid until the same date in 2030.

As the operator of the license, Equinor has an ownership interest of 57%, while its partners, Petoro and Vår Energi, hold the remaining 30% and 13% stakes, respectively. The 25/11-30 S/A well is expected to be drilled in water depths of 122 meters. The prospect, known as Lit, will be drilled with Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Atlantic rig.

This rig was also used to spud the Mistral Sør prospect around 170 kilometers northwest of Kristiansund, with the preliminary estimates indicating the discovery contains 3-7 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent, which corresponds to 19-44 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.

The 2009-built Deepsea Atlantic sixth-generation deepwater and harsh environment semi-submersible is a dual derrick, dynamic-positioned rig of enhanced GVA 7500 design. Thanks to a contract extension, the rig will stay with Equinor until the end of Q2 2027.