Planning the First Deep-Water Well Offshore Norway
Authors: Minton R.C. , Thorogood J.L. 
Published: December 2007

BP Norge was awarded acreage in the Norwegian 15th Licensing Round, with water depths up to 1420 metres. 3D seismic studies revealed a number of significant structures in these licenses and the decision was taken to evaluate the most interesting of these at the earliest opportunity. As a consequence, the Well Engineering team proceeded to plan the first exploration well, which was to be drilled in 1275 metres of water in the Nyk High area off Northern Norway.

The team faced two significant challenges. The rig market for fourth generation semi-submersible drilling units, capable of drilling in these water depths, was such that there were no Norwegian approved vessels available. Hence, they had to plan for the importation of an appropriate rig and introduce a new drilling contractor to the Norwegian sector. Additionally, the water depth was indicative of a dynamically positioned drilling operation and the Norwegian Authorities needed to be convinced that this unit, and the associated drilling programme, were appropriate to the task at hand.

Consequently, there were a number of key processes that were central to the success of this exercise. These included detailed project planning, wide-ranging risk assessments and accessing the knowledge and skills of groups inside BP Exploration with experience of these operations. Visible compliance with our internal technical and HSE systems and Policies was a central feature of this project, and compliance with the Norwegian requirements. As the first well of this nature in the Norwegian sector, these processes were all key to final approval to proceed with the drilling activity.

This paper describes how these aims were achieved, detailing how the Well Engineering Team managed the project, the risk assessment procedures that were implemented, the approach to Regulatory compliance and the verification processes that were put in place. The detailed engineering studies and the performance of the first well will be reported separately in later papers.

Operation in Norway

To anyone unaccustomed to it, the Norwegian sector of the North Sea is a challenging legislative environment in which to operate. The regulations governing oilfield operations are extensive and detailed, figure 1. An operator must be able to demonstrate that he complies with all the requirements of the legislation. Individuals must know the content of the regulations. Additionally, compliance is checked periodically by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate by formal audit of a company's activities against specific aspects of the regulations.

The regulations are designed with protection of the worker and the environment in mind. Compliance must be visible and demonstrable. Operators must therefore implement a system that enables them to do their work knowing that the results will comply with the requirements of the regulations. Whilst the process can appear bureaucratic and the volume of paperwork substantial, the essence of the regulation is simple. The Operator is responsible for all activities in his licence area and he must be able to show that he has assessed and analysed all the key risks, that the operation is being carried out by competent people and that it conforms to the plan.

The well being planned was the first deep water &gt;1000M) well to be drilled on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, figure 2. It was to be drilled with a dynamically positioned semi-submersible rig. The combination of these two presented the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate with a formidable challenge. They had major concerns about the safety and integrity of deep water operations and the use of dynamically positioned rigs for drilling. Hence, a major part of the project effort was devoted to identifying and understanding the concerns of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Once they were defined they were studied and the conclusions incorporated in the Consent Documentation.

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