Rosneft and Statoil have jointly started exploration drilling at the Pingvin Licence PL713 prospect in the Norwegian region of the Barents Sea.
The Transocean Spitsbergen rig will be used to drill the initial exploration well, Pingvin-1.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Pingvin-1 well will be drilled to a total vertical depth of 1,516m with a water depth of 422m.
Rosneft and Statoil aim to evaluate the drilling results by the end of this year.
Statoil operates the PL713 licence, which features four blocks – 7219/2, 7219/3, 7319/11 and 7319/12.
Other partners in the licence include Rosneft’s subsidiary RN Nordic Oil, and North Energy and Edison International Norway Branch.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataRN Nordic Oil will also be involved in project operations.
Rosneft said that the beginning of exploration operations marks an important milestone in developing the cooperation between the two companies.
Rosneft and Statoil intend to implement their experience in exploring and developing hydrocarbon fields in severe climate regions.
Rosneft joined the project in June 2013 following the results of a tender, in which it was granted a 20% stake in four fields within the PL713 licence.
The company says that the acreage is one of the largest applied for and it is situated in the most prolific area of the Barents Sea, next to the Castberg fields.
Image: Rosneft and Statoil will use the Transocean Spitsbergen rig to drill the initial exploration well, Pingvin-1. Photo: courtesy of Rosneft.
