Equinor gets nod for Barents wildcat
Drilling permit granted for exploration well on the Gjokaasen prospect
Norwegian operator Equinor has been granted a permit to drill a wildcat in the Barents Sea off Norway.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate confirmed Wednesday it had granted Equinor a drilling permit for the 7132/2-1 well on the Gjokaasen prospect in production licence 857.
Partner Lundin Norway has previously estimated Gjokaasen could hold as much as 768 million barrels of oil in gross unrisked prospective resources.
The well will be drilled using the semi-submersible West Hercules once it completes drilling the 122/7-7 S appraisal well for Italy’s Eni in production licence 229.
PL 857 consists of blocks 7232/10, 7132/1,2,6 and 7133/4 and the southern part of blocks 7132/3 and 7133/1.
Equinor operates the licence with a 40% stake on behalf of partners Lundin, BP and Petoro which each hold a 20% interest.
