The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted ConocoPhillips a drilling permit for well 25/7-7 in the North Sea offshore Norway.

The well 25/7-7 will be drilled from the Leiv Eiriksson semi-submersible drilling rig, the NPD said on Wednesday.

The drilling program for well 25/7-7 relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production license 782 S. ConocoPhillips Skandinavia is the operator with an ownership interest of 40 per cent. Other licensees are Equinor (20 percent), Aker BP (20 percent) and DEA Norge (20 percent).

The area in this license consists of parts of blocks 25/7 and 25/10. The well will be drilled about 17 kilometers northwest of the Balder field.

Production license 782 S was awarded on February 6, 2015, in APA 2014. This is the first well to be drilled in the license.