Independent Oil and Gas (IOG) said yesterday a rig had been secured to drill the Skipper discovery in the northern North Sea.
ATP Oil and Gas UK, operator on the licence, has contracted the semisubmersible drilling rig Transocean Arctic III to drill an appraisal well in the first half of next year.
Skipper, owned 50% each by ATP and IOG, was discovered by Unocal in 1990. The firms also hope to test the deeper Maureen and Dornoch exploration targets.
Skipper has been estimated to contain 25.8million barrels of “gross contingent resources”.
After drilling Skipper, the Arctic III rig will then also be used for development well drilling on the Cheviot field.