Stamp of approval for North Sea operator to kick off drilling ops

October 24, 2024, by Melisa Čavčić

Norwegian oil and gas company OKEA has secured a drilling permit from the country’s authorities for an exploration well in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has granted OKEA a drilling permit for wellbore 31/4-A-23 F in production license 055, which was awarded on April 6, 1979, and is valid until April 6, 2030. The Norwegian firm is the operator of the license with an ownership interest of 35.2%, while its partners – Lime Petroleum, DNO Norge, Petrolia Noco, and M Vest Energy – hold the remaining 33.84%, 14.25%, 12.57%, and 4.42% interests, respectively.

The well is slated to be drilled in October 2024 from the Brage platform, which is located on the OKEA-operated Brage field. This drilling permit comes several months after the Norwegian player made a final investment decision (FID) for the Brasse project, to be renamed Bestla upon approval of its plans for development and operation (PDO).

This PDO envisages a NOK 6.3 billion (about $571 million) investment for the Bestla field, which is estimated to contain 24 million barrels of oil equivalent gross in recoverable reserves and will be developed as a tie-back to the Brage platform.

The development plan for Bestla in the northern North Sea, 13 kilometers south of the Brage field, consists of a two-well subsea tie-back to the Brage platform, which will serve as the host facility for production, processing, and export.

The field is expected to be on stream during the first half of 2027 and operate until 2031, with the potential for extension. The plateau production is estimated at around 26,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) gross and is anticipated within the first year of production.

Recently, OKEA sold its stake in a Repsol-operated North Sea field to Lime Petroleum, a Norwegian subsidiary of Singapore’s Rex International. The field was on a 20-year hiatus after production ground to a halt in 2001 before being put back into operation nearly three years ago.