MOL gearing up for North Sea appraisal well

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted MOL Norge a drilling permit for an appraisal well in the North Sea off Norway.

The well 25/8-22 S will be drilled from the Transocean Barents drilling rig. The drilling programme for the well relates to the drilling of an appraisal well in production licence 820 S.

MOL Norge is the operator of the licence with an ownership interest of 40 per cent. Other licensees are Lundin Energy Norway (41 per cent), Pandion Energy (12.5 per cent), and Wintershall Dea Norge (6.5 per cent).

The area in this licence consists of parts of blocks 25/7 and 25/8. The well will be drilled about 12 kilometres north of the Balder field.

Production licence 820 S was awarded on 5 February 2016 (APA2015). This is the fourth exploration well to be drilled in the licence.

The permit is contingent on the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to starting the drilling activity.

The Transocean Barents rig is under contract with MOL Norge with an expiry date set for December 2021. The rig’s day rate under this contract is $270,000.

The rig was also this week awarded a two-well contract from an unnamed operator in Norway with the start date expected in February 2022.

The contract award is approximately 200 days in duration and adds an estimated $60 million in firm contract backlog.