28 August 2015, News Wires – Statoil has been granted safety clearance to drill a wildcat at the Sigrun East prospect in the Norwegian North Sea.
The state-owned explorer will use semi-submersible Songa Trym to drill the 15/3-10 probe in a water depth of around 107 metres in its operated production licences 025 and 187, about 40 kilometres north of the producing Volve field.
Drilling work is expected to kick off in October at the earliest and has an estimated duration of 73 days, including a possible sidetrack, according to the Petroleum Safety Authority, which has now sanctioned the well.
The primary objective for the probe lies in the Draupne formation, with a secondary target in the Hugin structure.
Delineation drilling reportedly may be required in the event of a discovery, though further well testing is likely to be performed by another rig.
Statoil has an active drilling campaign in the mature North Sea as it targets additional resources that can be tied back into existing infrastructure to maximise resource recovery, with wells currently being drilled near the Oseberg field and at the Knappen prospect.
It holds a 51% operating stake in the licences, with partners Engie (ex-GDF Suez) on 25% and OMV on 24%.
– Upstream