Equinor Energy has received a permit for the drilling of a wildcat well in the Norwegian waters of the North Sea.

Drilling of wellbore 34/7-E-4 AH will begin in production licence (PL) 089, on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The area under PL089 comprises parts of block 34/7. Drilling of the wildcat well to the southwest of the Snorre oil and gas field, where Equinor operates two platforms.

The license for PL089 was awarded on 9 March 1984 and is valid until 31 December 2040. The new well will be the 41st drilled on the licensed area.

Equinor operates the licence with 41.5% stake, while Petoro (30%), Vår Energi (16.1%), Idemitsu Petroleum (9.6%), and Wintershall Dea (2.8%) are partners. Exploration on the shelf  is regulated by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), who gave the green light to the project.

According to the NPD, well 35/10-5 will be drilled using the semisubmersible Transocean Norge rig in position 61°23’54.82″N and 2°4’4.53″E.

NPD noted that the permit is contingent upon the operator securing all other permits and grants required by other authorities before starting the drilling activities.

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In December last year, Equinor finished drilling an appraisal well on the 35/11-23 oil and gas discovery near Fram field. The well turned out to be dry.

In May the same year, NPD approved the start-up of the Trestakk field in the Norwegian Sea.