The Deepsea Atlantic drilling rig on March 1 started drilling the first of 35 wells for the first phase of the Johan Sverdrup field development, Statoil said in a news release.

The rig is drilling the first production well through a predrilling template that was installed on the field in the summer of 2015, the release said. A total of eight wells will be drilled through the predrilling template, before the rig relocates to drill injection wells on three locations on the field.

Statoil said the permanent Johan Sverdrup drilling platform will be installed in 2018 as the second of four platforms. The drilling platform is currently being constructed at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund, north of Stavanger, and in Thailand. When the drilling platform is installed and operational, the eight predrilled wells will be hooked up from the predrilling template, according to the release. At this point Deepsea Atlantic will be drilling the injection wells providing reservoir pressure support to maintain high field production.

The operator Statoil, the rig owner Odfjell Drilling and the drilling service provider Baker Hughes have cooperated closely to ensure safe and cost-effective deliveries. The project introduces integrated drilling services as a new concept, which means that Baker Hughes will provide the main deliveries with Odfjell Drilling, the release said.

Offshore