Drilling starts on Faroe’s Arctic prospect

Aberdeen-based driller Faroe Petroleum said today that work has started on its latest exploration well in the Arctic.

The group said drilling has started on the Darwin exploration well in the Barents Sea, in which it owns a 12.5 per cent stake.

The work is being carried out by one of Faroe’s partners in the operation, Spanish giant Repsol, using a rig supplied by contractor Transocean.

Graham Stewart, chief executive of Faroe, said: “We are very pleased to announce the spudding of this high impact wildcat well which is our first in the highly prospective Barents Sea. This well is located in the promising western part of the Barents Sea - an area where a major breakthrough was achieved in 2011 with the giant Skrugard oil discovery.”