The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Statoil a drilling permit for well 16/2-9 S, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations.

Well 16/2-9 S will be drilled from the Transocean Leader drilling facility at position 58°54'46.39"N 02°26'22.80"E following completion of drilling of wildcat well 16/2-8 for Statoil in production license 265.

The drilling program for well 16/2-9 S concerns the drilling of a wildcat well in production license 265. Statoil Petroleum AS is the operator with an ownership interest of 40 percent. The other licensees are Petoro AS with 30 percent, Det norske oljeselskap ASA with 20 percent and Lundin Norway AS with 10 percent.

The area in this license consists of part of block 16/2. The well will be drilled about 12 kilometers northwest of well 16/2-8 (Aldous Major South) in the central part of the North Sea.

Production license 265 was awarded on April 24, 2001 (North Sea Awards 2000). This is sixth well to be drilled in the license.

The permit is contingent upon the operator having secured all other permits and consents required by other authorities before the drilling starts.

Tags: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, Statoil