Oil and gas company Neptune Energy has received regulatory approval to use the Deepsea Yantai rig for exploration drilling in the North Sea, offshore Norway.
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway said Wednesday it had granted Neptune the consent to use the rig for the wells 34/4-15 S and 34/4-15 A (sidetrack) at a prospect named Dugong.
The prospect is located in Neptune operated (40%) production license 882, near Equinor's Snorre field. Other partners in the license are Petrolia, Concedo, and Idemitsu.
According to PSA Norway, the drilling operation, in a water depth of 331 meters, will take between 44 and 90 days to complete.
The Deepsea Yantai is a sixth-generation semi-submersible drilling rig delivered in 2019 by CIMC Raffles in China.
The drilling rig is owned by CIMC but managed by the Norwegian drilling contractor Odfjell Drilling.
The two companies last year signed a four-year management deal for the rig, under which Odfjell will also have the exclusive right to buy the rig and will have a right of first refusal on any offer to buy the rig following the exclusivity period.
According to Odfjell's fleet status report, the Deepsea Yantai should stay busy with Neptune until early 2021, with extension options available until mid-2022.