(St. John’s) One of the world’s largest oil companies is preparing to drill a deep-water exploratory well about 500 km off the east coast of the island of Newfoundland.
The exploratory well will be drilled in an area of the seabed called the “Orphan Basin”, located north of the “Flemish Pass” basin, where Equinor plans to develop its “Bay du Nord” project, the first water-based oil production activity. deep in the country.
ExxonMobil announced Tuesday that the “Stena Drillmax” vessel will drill a single well, which the American oil company has nicknamed “Persephone”, at a depth of 3,000 meters.
Maritime traffic websites indicate that the vessel “Stena Drillmax” is currently docked in the port of Bay Bulls, about 30 kilometers south of Saint John.
Margot Bruce-O’Connell, an Exxon spokeswoman, said she could not provide an exact date for when work on drilling the well would begin. However, she indicated in an email that this exploratory drilling should take approximately four months.
Norwegian oil company Equinor announced last year that it was suspending its “Bay du Nord” project for three years while it found a way to make it more affordable – and profitable.