Statoil gets nod to drill Barents Sea well with West Hercules rig

Statoil Petroleum AS has received consent to carry out exploration drilling of well 7220/7-3 in the Barents Sea.

The well is located in production licence 532, where Statoil is operator. The well is to be drilled using the West Hercules semi-submersible drilling rig, with earliest start-up in February 2014.

Water depth at the site is 342 metres. The activity is planned to last 41 days.

West Hercules is a semi-submersible drilling facility of the GVA 7500 type, built in 2008 at the Daewoo Shipyard, South Korea. The facility has been since upgraded to operate year-round in the Barents Sea. It was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AOC) by the PSA in December 2012.

West Hercules is operated by North Atlantic Drilling with operations offices in Stavanger. The facility is registered in Singapore, with DNV as the classification society.