Eni has secured approval from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use Scarabeo 8 drilling rig at its two production wells at Goliat offshore oil field in the Barents Sea.

Of the two wells, one will be drilled for oil production, and the other is for water injection.

The company will initially drill a pilot hole and the production well will be drilled as a sidetrack from this.

Horizontal drilling will be used for the well, which is designated 7122/7-C-1 AH.

Directional drilling will be used for the water injection well, which has been designated 7122/7-H-2 H.

Eni plans to commence drilling operations at the end of this June.

Operated by Saipem Norge, the Scarabeo 8 is a mobile drilling facility of the Moss CS50 MKII type.

The rig, which was constructed in Russia and Italy, had been commissioned in 2012. It is classified by DNV GL and registered in the Bahamas

Goliat is an offshore oil field, which is situated 85km northwest of Hammerfest. It is owned and operated by Eni with a 65% stake, while Statoil Petroleum holds the remaining 35% interest.

The field commenced production in March 2016. Estimated to include around 180 million barrels of oil, the field is said to produce around 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

It includes 12 production wells, seven water injectors and three gas injectors.  The field is being developed by using Goliat floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit

Sevan Marine’s floating and cylindrical production facility, Sevan 1000 FPSO, has been used to develop the field.


Image: The Goliat field in Barents Sea. Photo: courtesy of Eni Norge.