Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has given Statoil its consent to use the Songa Enabler semi-sub Cat D rig for drilling three wells at the Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea, offshore Norway.

Statoil is the field operator at Snøhvit, a gas field northwest of Hammerfest developed using a subsea production facility. Production at Snøhvit began in 2007 with the gas being transported onshore via 143-kilometre-long pipeline to Melkøya, off Hammerfest.

Gas from the field contains CO2, which is separated out at Melkøya and sent back to the field for reinjection.

The offshore safety agency said on Wednesday that the consent to use the Songa Enabler is for three wells, two of which are production wells and the third is for reinjecting CO2.

The wells are designated 7121/4 G-4 H, F-1 H, and G-3 H and will be drilled in two well templates which are in 316 and 318 metres of water respectively.

According to the PSA, drilling was scheduled to begin in late July 2016 and will last for 220 days in total.

To remind, the Songa Enabler already started working in the Barents Sea for Statoil last week under its eight-year drilling contract on the Norwegian continental shelf.

The rig is the last in a series of four Category D semi-subs specifically built for Statoil by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea. The Songa Enabler was delivered to Songa in March 2016 and arrived in Norway on June 28.

The rig was issued with an Acknowledgment of Compliance (AOC) by the PSA in July.

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com