Norwegian offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has given its consent to Neptune Energy for exploration drilling in the North Sea using the Deepsea Yantai semi-submersible drilling rig.

Neptune was awarded 13 new licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf in the APA 2019 licensing round, early in 2020. In the 2019 Annual Report, Neptune stated that further exploration wells are planned at Grind, Dugong and Blasto.

Odfjell Drilling’s semisubmersible Deepsea Yantai will drill well 34/4-15 S and side track 34/4-15 A on the Dugong prospect in 331 m (1,086 ft) of water on license 882. The rig was built at the CIMC Raffles yard in China. It was completed in 2016.

The drilling campaign is expected to between 44 and 90 days, depending on the results.

Neptune Energy is the operator of the license 882 with a 40 percent interest, while other partners: Idemitsu, Concedo, and Petrolia NOCO owns 20 percent each.

The Deepsea Yantai, formerly named Beacon Atlantic, was hired by Neptune Energy for up to 16 wells offshore Norway back in March 2019.

The most recent consent for the use of the Deepsea Yantai was given to Neptune Energy in early December 2019. The consent was for 35/9-15 and 35/9-15A wells which belong to production license 153 in blocks 35/9 and 36/7. Work on the well was scheduled to begin in December 2019 and was estimated to last for at least 56 days.

Deepsea Yantai

Deepsea Yantai is a GM4D harsh environment design and is Odfjell Drilling’s first rig of this design. The unit is designed for operations in harsh environments and at water depths of up to 1,200 m.

The rig has full DP 3 station keeping and is ready for full mooring spread for operations in water depths of 70 to 500 metres. The loading capacity is 4,000 mtT in all operating conditions and the rig is fully winterized for operation in all waters including an arctic environment.

The rig has a state-of-the-art, highly efficient drilling system, which includes a 1 ½ derrick with offline capabilities to facilitate a number of simultaneous operations. The drilling system has an active heave compensating draw-work for increased performance, efficiency, safety and redundancy. The rig is designed for worldwide operation and will be especially suitable for operation in harsh environment.