Norwegian energy major Equinor has started drilling the Ginny exploration well located in the Norwegian Sea.

OKEA, a partner in the offshore license where the Ginny well is located, said that the drilling operations on the Equinor-operated Ginny exploration well – designated 6407/9-13 – had started using the West Hercules semi-submersible drilling rig.

The well, in production license PL1060, targets both an Upper Jurassic (Ginny) and a Middle Jurassic (Hermine) prospect located between the Galtvort and Hasselmus discoveries.

‘’This is the first of three exploration wells we will be drilling the coming year, all focussed on near-field exploration near our Draugen and Gjøa producing fields,” said Andrew McCann, SVP of Subsurface and Wells at OKEA.

“This type of exploration is core to OKEA’s strategy of identifying upside potential for our producing assets and a discovery in this area could be developed rapidly through the use of existing infrastructure,” McCann added.

As previously stated, the Ginny exploration well is located in production license PL1060 which is operated by Equinor.

The Norwegian energy major holds a 31 percent working interest in the license while its partners there are OKEA with a 40 percent working interest, Chrysaor Norge with 20 percent, and Longboat Energy Norge which holds the remaining 9 percent working interest.

It is worth noting that the license was awarded in the APA 2019 licensing round and that it is located northwest of the Draugen field which is operated by OKEA with a 44.56 percent working interest.

Equinor has previously secured the drilling permit for the Ginny well from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) in the autumn of 2021.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com

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