Wintershall Dea preparing to drill Norwegian Sea wildcat with Transocean rig

Wintershall Dea Norge, a subsidiary of Germany’s oil and gas company Wintershall Dea, has secured a drilling permit from Norway’s authorities to spud a wildcat well in the Norwegian Sea, using one of Transocean’s semi-submersible rigs.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) disclosed on Friday, September 22, 2023, that it had granted Wintershall Dea Norge a drilling permit for the well 6406/3-12 S in production license 836 S, which was awarded on February 5, 2016, and is valid until February 5, 2026. Wintershall Dea holds an ownership interest of 40% and acts as the operator of the license, while its partners are Equinor (30%) and DNO Norge (30%).

The exploration well 6406/3-12 S is expected to be drilled in September 2023. The well will be drilled with the Transocean Norge rig, thanks to a 17-well contract, which the rig secured in September 2022.

The contract, with day rates between $350,000 and $430,000, was awarded after two oil and gas companies, Wintershall Dea and OMV, entered into an exclusive partnership with Transocean for the use of the rig for the drilling of all firm and additional potential wells in the period 2023 to 2027.

The Transocean Norge sixth-generation Moss Maritime CS60 semi-submersible rig was constructed at Jurong Shipyard in Singapore. It can accommodate 150 people and its maximum drilling depth is 40,000 ft. Transocean recently got a one-well extension with Wintershall Dea for this rig.