Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP has started drilling operations on its Mugnetind exploration well located offshore Norway, using a Maersk Drilling-owned jack-up rig.

Aker BP was granted a drilling permit for two wells – 7/11-14 S and A – in September 2021. The drilling programme for these two wells relates to the drilling of a wildcat well and an appraisal well in production licence 906.

Aker BP is the operator of the licence with an ownership interest of 60 per cent and other licensees are Longboat Energy Norge (20 per cent) and DNO Norge (20 per cent).

The spud of the exploration well on the Mugnetind prospect, using the Maersk Integrator jack-up rig, was announced on Monday by Longboat Energy. The company entered the licence as part of agreements with three separate companies structured as three farm-in transactions, getting access to a seven-well exploration programme in Norway.

The first well, Rødhette, is operated by Vår Energi. It has already been drilled and announced as a discovery. The second one, Egyptian Vulture, is operated by Equinor and spud in September.

The Aker BP-operated Mugnetind prospect is estimated to contain gross mean prospective resources of 24 mmboe with further potential upside estimated at 47 mmboe (gross). The chance of success associated with the Mugnetind prospect is 51 per cent with the key risks being reservoir presence/quality.

Longboat said that the well is expected to take approximately five to seven weeks to drill with an estimated net cost to the company of c.$7 million (c.$1.5 million post-tax).

Helge Hammer, Chief Executive of Longboat, commented: “We are in a very busy period of drilling with Egyptian Vulture and Mugnetind exploration wells now both underway with the potential to create significant shareholder value.”

Maersk Integrator is contracted under the terms of the frame agreement that Maersk Drilling and Aker BP entered into in 2017 as part of the Aker BP Jack-up Alliance, which also includes Halliburton.

The rig was in February 2021 awarded an additional two-well contract for operations on the Ivar Aasen field. Later, in April 2021, the rig also secured an additional one-well contract with Aker BP in direct continuation of its previously announced work scope.