Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has given Statoil consent to drill four survey wells in order to obtain information about the reservoir conditions in the field.
Drilling, in 110-120m, using the Deepsea Atlantic semisubmersible drilling rig, is due to start on 1 November 2016, and will take about four months. Water depth in the area is 110-120m.
Johan Sverdrup, 155km west of Stavanger, Norway, is one of the five biggest oil fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, with expected resources of 1.7-3 billion boe. The field was discovered in 2011.
The field is being developed using four fixed facilities connected by bridges. Production from the field is expected to begin in late 2019.
The Deepsea Atlantic is MODU GVA 7500 type rig, supplied by Daewoo, South Korea, in 2009. The facility is operated by Odfjell Drilling. It is registered in Singapore and classified by DNV GL.