Equinor has received a drilling permit from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate for the 30/8-7 S wellbore in production license 190 on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The permit clears the way for the North Sea wildcat to be spudded in August, according to the source headline.
Production license 190 has been valid since 9 September 1993 and runs until 9 September 2032. Equinor is the operator with a 50% stake. Petoro holds 40%, while TotalEnergies EP Norge owns 10%.
The drilling work will be carried out with Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Bergen semi-submersible rig, formerly known as Deepsea Bollsta.
Built in 2019, Deepsea Bergen can accommodate 180 people. The rig is equipped with a conventional mooring spread for operations in water depths of 70 m to 500 m.
The permit follows Equinor’s proposed environmental impact assessment programme for a potential Barents Sea field development, which was submitted for public consultation.