Tuesday 19 December 2017

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Aker BP ASA a drilling permit for wells 24/9-12 S, 24/9-12 A and 24/9-12 B, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations.

Wells 24/9-12 S, 24/9-12 A and 24/9-12 B will be drilled from the Transocean Arctic drilling facility at position 59°20’ 58.95’’ north and 01°49’ 48.47” east.

The drilling program for wells 24/9-11 S, 24/9-12 A and 24/9-12 B concerns drilling of one wildcat well and two appraisal wells in production licence 340. Aker BP ASA is the operator with an ownership interest of 65 per cent, while Point Resources AS and Lundin Norway AS are licensees with ownership interests of 20 and 15 per cent, respectively. Production licence 340 was awarded in 2004 (APA 2004).

The area in this production licence is located in the central part of the North Sea, and consists of parts of block 24/9, which borders the UK shelf. The wells will be drilled southwest of the Volund field. These are the fourth, fifth and sixth exploration wells to be drilled in the production licence.

The permit is contingent upon the operator having secured all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing the drilling activity.