Energy giant Statoil has been granted a permit for exploration drilling near the Visund field in the Norwegian North Sea.
The well, which lies six miles north east of Visund, will be drilled from the Deepsea Atlantic facility after it completes work on the Johan Sverdrup field.
It relates to production license 120 – Statoil is operator with a 53 per cent stake.
The remainder is held by Petoro AS (30 per cent) ConocoPhilips Skandinavia AS (9 per cent) and Repsol Norge AS (8 per cent).
The well is the nineteenth to be drilled for the license.