On 9 July, Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority granted consent for Statoil to use the semisubmersible drilling rig Transocean Spitsbergen to drill exploration well 7125 4-3 Ensis at Production Licence 393 in the Barents Sea.
The drilling location is about 42 km from the nearest land, at Knivskjelodden in Nordkapp municipality. This is north of the northern tip of Norway, in 294m of water.
The rig’s position during drilling will be:
The PSA says drilling is planned to begin 1 September 2014, requiring about 30 days.
The Transocean Spitsbergen semisubmersible is model Aker H-6e, with a sister ship, Transocean Barents. It was built at the Aker Stord yard in 2009, is registered in the Bahamas, and is classed by DNV.
The facility received Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) in October 2012.
Read more:
Greenpeace continues Barents protest, 30 May 2014
Activists mount two rigs, 27 May 2014