The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Aker BP ASA a drilling permit for well 24/9-14 A, cf. Section 15 of the Resource Management Regulations.

The well will be drilled from the Scarabeo 8 drilling facility in position 59°21'51.91" north and 1°46'52.29" east after completing the drilling of wildcat well 24/9-14 S in the central part of the North Sea.

The drilling programme for well 24/9-14 A relates to the drilling of appraisal wells in production licence 869, where Aker BP ASA is the operator with an ownership interest of 60 per cent. The other licensees are Lundin Norway AS (20 per cent) and Point Resources AS (20 per cent).

The area in this licence consists of parts of blocks 24/9, 24/12 and 25/7. The well will be drilled about four kilometres northwest of the Bøyla field in the central part of the North Sea.

Production licence 869 was awarded on 10 February 2017 (APA 2016). This is the third exploration well to be drilled in the licence itself, but several wildcat wells have been drilled previously within the licence area.

The permit is contingent on the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing the drilling activity.