Equinor gets drilling permit for North Sea wildcat

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Equinor a drilling permit for a wildcat well in the North Sea.

The NPD said on Monday that the wildcat well, designated 36/1-3, would be drilled from the Transocean Spitsbergen drilling rig.

The drilling program for the well relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production license 885 in the North Sea.

Equinor is the operator of the license with an ownership interest of 20 percent. The other licensees are Capricorn, Wellesley Petroleum, and Petoro with 30, 20, and 20 percent interest respectively.

The area in this permit consists of the south-eastern parts of block 35/3 and block 36/1. The well will be drilled about 40 kilometers east of the Peon discovery.

Production license 885 was awarded on February 10, 2017, in APA 2016. This is the first well to be drilled in the license.

To remind, Equinor was awarded the consent to use the Transocean Spitsbergen rig on the 36/1-3 well in late October.

The drilling was planned to start in December 2018 and would last 35 days or 52 days if a discovery was made.