Wintershall awards drilling contract for Nova development
Wintershall Norge has awarded a rig contract for the Nova development to Seadrill Norway Operations, which will operate the West Mira semisubmersible drilling rig on behalf of Northern Drilling. In addition, Wintershall has entered a long-term frame agreement with Seadrill for potential future rig needs.
The West Mira will drill six subsea wells on the Nova field (formerly Skarfjell), in a water depth of approximately 370 m, starting in the first half of 2020. Wintershall Norge has options to use the rig for up to 10 additional wells on its other operated assets or for exploration activities.
“This is another major milestone for the Nova project. With the procurement of this modern rig, we now have in place one of the final pieces of the puzzle that will allow us to build this field and deliver first oil from Nova in 2021,” said Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Norge Managing Director.
Nova will be developed as a subsea tie-back connecting two templates to the nearby Gjøa platform for processing and export. Gjøa will also provide lift gas to the field and water injection for pressure support in the reservoir. Power for the Nova field comes via the Gjøa platform from shore.
Nova was discovered in 2012 and is situated in the northeastern North Sea approximately 17 km southwest of the Neptune Energy-operated Gjøa platform and about 120 km northwest of Bergen. Located in the so-called “Quadrant 35,” Nova profits from the existing infrastructure in the area. In this core region of Wintershall, the company is already operator of the Vega subsea field.
Wintershall is operator of the Nova development with 35% interest. Partners include Capricorn Norge (part of Cairn Energy) with 20%, Spirit Energy with 20%, Edison Norge 15% and DEA Norge 10%.
