As operator of production licence 393B, Statoil has applied for consent to carry out exploration drilling of well 7125/4-3 in a prospect named Ensis.
The object of the drilling is to prove hydrocarbons with a view to acquiring data for evaluating further development of the field. Well testing is not planned in association with the drilling. The well is to be drilled using the West Hercules mobile drilling facility, with earliest start-up in mid-January 2014.
The rig’s planned position during drilling will be:
71° 30' 56.4" N
25° 12' 57.0" E
Water depth at the site is 294 metres and the location lies some 42 km from the nearest land, at Knivskjellodden in the municipality of Nordkapp. The activity is planned to last 34 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 since been 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.
