RWE Dea Norge AS signed a contract with Dolphin Drilling AS to use the Bredford Dolphin rig to drill an appraisal well for the Titan discovery in the North Sea off Norway during 2013.
The Bredford Dolphin semisubmserible drilling rig will be used to confirm the size of the Titan discovery. Titan is in production license 420 some 96 km northwest of Mongstad and 16 km west of Gjoa oil and gas field, where production began Nov. 7, 2010.
Dolpin Drilling negotiated the latest rig contract through an agreement involving Lundin Oil, Norwegian Energy Co. ASA, and Repsol SA. The contract calls for eight wells to be drilled during 570 days, with an extension option for a minimum of five more wells.
The Bredford Dolphin semi drilled the Titan discovery well to 3,664 m in Upper Triassic rocks in 370 m of water (OGJ Online, Dec. 8, 2010).
Gjoa field serves as a hub for production from the nearby Vega fields and is likely to host production from other fields during its expected 30-year life (see map, OGJ, Oct. 4, 2010, p. 59).
Titan was the first well on PL420, and RWE believes the license has further exploration potential.
RWE operates PL420 and holds 30% interest. Partners are Statoil with 40% interest and Idemitsu 30% interest.