Equinor Energy has secured drilling permit for 31/2-22 S and 31/2-22 A wells in the production licence 090 I (PL 090 I) in the Norwegian North Sea from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).

The Norwegian oil and gas company will drill the 31/2-22 S and 31/2-22 A wells using the West Hercules drilling rig, nearly 8km southwest of the Fram field. This will be after Equinor Energy wraps up the drilling of exploratory well 31/1-2 S and appraisal well 31/1-2 A in production licence 923 (PL 923).

According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the drilling campaign for the 31/2-22 S and 31/2-22 A wells is related to the drilling of exploratory well 31/2-22 S and appraisal well 31/2-22 A.

Equinor Energy is the operator of PL 090 I with a stake of 45%. Its license partners are Vår Energi (25%), Idemitsu Petroleum (15%), and Neptune Energy Norge (15%).

Equinor Energy secures permit from NPD for drilling PL 090 I wells with the West Hercules drilling rig. Photo courtesy of Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

The acreage in the PL 090 I, which was awarded in APA 2017, consists of parts of block 31/2.

The permit from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) is contingent on Equinor Energy getting all relevant other permits and consents from other authorities before beginning the drilling operations.

Earlier this month, Norwegian authorities approved Equinor and partners’ plans to start production from the Snorre expansion project in the North Sea.

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