Spud of the Haydn Exploration Well

The Haydn exploration deepwater well (6605/6-1 S) is located in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea, 60 kilometres southwest of the Aasta Hansteen field and approximately 275 kilometres west of Sandnessjøen. The water depth at the well site is 1,064 meters, and it is being drilled by the rig Transocean Norge on behalf of the operator OMV (Norge) AS.

Transocean Norge is a semi-submersible rig designed for operations in harsh environments and it has been converted to a low emission drilling unit. The duration of the drilling campaign is expected to last up to 56 days in case of a discovery. 

The General Manager of OMV (Norge) AS, Knut Mauseth, stated that “Haydn is a gas prospect, and this campaign fits our strategy to increase the share of gas as a transition fuel in our production portfolio.”

The Aasta Hansteen platform, located nearby, is a potential future hub for third-party subsea tiebacks. OMV (Norge) AS is a license partner with a 15% working interest in the Aasta Hansteen field.

Mauseth also mentioned that “If we have a commercial discovery, we can develop Haydn relatively fast due to the proximity to existing infrastructure, which enables us to maintain a stable and secure supply of gas to Europe.”

OMV will utilize supply base services from Sandnessjøen and helicopter transport services from Brønnøysund for this drilling campaign, as it has done so previously when carrying out exploration activities in the Northern Norwegian Sea.

OMV (Norge) AS is the operator of PL 1194 with 40% working interest. The license partners are INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS and Vår Energi ASA with 30% working interest each.

The production license was awarded by the Norwegian Ministry of Energy in 2023, as part of the Awards in Pre-defined Areas - APA 2022.