Our Arctic Neighbors: StatoilHydro moving rig in Barents Sea

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority has given consent for StatoilHydro to conduct exploration drilling in the Barents Sea with the mobile Polar Pioneer rig. The consent applies to the Caurus well, which belongs to production license 228, and is 72 miles from the nearest landfall. The water depth at the site is 1,178 feet.

The startup of the drilling activity depends on the progress of the Polar Pioneer’s ongoing drilling activity to the northeast at Arenaria, the Petroleum Safety Authority said in a release July 28. Spudding is scheduled for August and the activity has an estimated duration of 45 days.

The Polar Pioneer is operated by Stavanger-based drilling contractor Transocean Offshore. It is a Sonat-Hitachi design semi-submersible drilling unit, capable of operating in harsh environments and water depths up to 1,650 feet.

—Sarah Hurst