The PSA has granted Wintershall consent for the exploration drilling. Wintershall is the operator for production licence 248 in the North Sea. The well will be drilled in a prospect named Orion, with the designation 35/11-19S. The location is around 98 km west-south-west of Florø and has the geographical coordinates:
- 03o 26′ 27.88″ E
- 61o 13′ 21.45″ N
Water depth at the site is 379 metres.
The drilling will start in mid-May at the earliest, with an estimated duration of between 47 and 134 days. The duration will depend on whether a discovery is made, which in turn will entail drilling sidetrack wells.
The well will be drilled by Borgland Dolphin, which is a semi-submersible mobile drilling facility of the Aker H-3 type. The facility is owned by Fred. Olsen Energy ASA and operated by Dolphin Drilling AS. It was built as a flotel in 1977 and refitted/upgraded into a drilling facility in 1999.
