Norway’s Equinor Secures Drilling Permit for North Sea Exploration Well

Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor has secured a drilling permit for an exploration well in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, which will be drilled with a semi-submersible rig owned by COSL Drilling Europe, an offshore drilling player.

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for the wellbore 35/11-31 S in production license 090, which was awarded on March 9, 1984, and is valid until December 31, 2040. Equinor is the operator of the license with a 45% stake, while its partners, Vår Energi and Inpex Idemitsu Norge, hold the remaining 40% and 15% interests, respectively.

The drilling of the well 35/11-31 S, scheduled to commence in June 2025, will be carried out using the COSL Innovator drilling rig. Equinor hired the rig in August 2023 for a two-year assignment starting in the second quarter of 2025, with options for three more years. The COSL Innovator rig, built in 2012, is capable of operating in water depths of up to 750 meters.

This drilling permit comes on the heels of Equinor’s recent approval for the wellbore 7220/5-4, which is set to be drilled next month utilizing the COSL Prospector semi-submersible rig.

Norway is demonstrating its commitment to increasing oil and gas exploration activities, as evidenced by the inclusion of new blocks in the recent award of pre-defined areas 2025 (APA 2025) round for oil and gas exploration, compared to APA 2024.