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.

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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.

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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.

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.