Oil major Statoil has received the Petroleum Safety Authority's (PSA) consent to drill an exploration well in block 7325 / 4 of the Barents Sea.

The well 7325 / 4-1 (Gemini Nord) is located in the Hoop area of the Barents Sea at a water depth of about 447m.

The site is situated about 275km from Nordkapp and 200km from Bjørnøya (Bear Island).

Statoil intends to start drilling the well this month using Songa Offshore rig. Drilling is expected to continue for 19 days.

The semi-submersible mobile drilling facility of the CAT D type was delivered by the Daewoo yard in South Korea last year, and is owned and operated by Songa Enabler.

PSA issued an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) to Songa Enabler in July, which is now registered in Norway and classified by DNV GL.

"Statoil intends to start drilling the well this month using Songa Offshore rig. Drilling is expected to continue for 19 days." PSA has also conducted an audit of Statoil’s follow-up of improvement processes under Phase 2 of the Johan Sverdrup development, which is located in the North Sea.

The audit focused on the performance of Statoil to identify HSE risks associated with this project and its work, as well as various decisions undertaken during development. The Statoil-operated Johan Sverdrup field is set to be developed in multiple phases.

The first phase is currently under development and includes a field centre with facilities for processing, drilling, risers and accommodation.

Front end engineering design for the second phase is now underway.

Johan Sverdrup field is scheduled to become operational in late 2019.