Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway has cleared Statoil to drill a well in frontier waters off northern Norway.
Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway -- Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway has cleared Statoil to drill a well in frontier waters off northern Norway.
The semisubmersible drilling rig Polar Pioneer will drill well 7220/8-1 around 200 km (124 mi) northwest of Ingøya in Finnmark County, and 210 km (130 mi) south-southeast of Bjørnøya. Water depth at the site is 373 m (1,224 ft).
Statoil aims to start the well early in September, with an estimated duration of around 36 days. PSA says it will be drilled in conformity with guidelines concerning year-round petroleum activities in the Lofoten/Barents Sea area.
The consent was issued on the understanding that Statoil also compiles and reports on meteorological and oceanographic data, including the potential proximity between the rig, the Arctic ice edge, drift ice, and icebergs.
