Statoil ASA will lay up a second semisubmersible drilling rig that it says exceeds the needs of its current program offshore Norway.
It will suspend work by the COSL Drilling Europe Pioneer semi in the fourth quarter when the rig completes work in Visund oil and gas field in the Norwegian North Sea.
Statoil said the suspension period will be shorter than that of the Saipem Scarabeo 5 semi, which will begin at the end of this month and last through yearend.
The operator said the suspensions will not affect its production targets or plans to drill 20-25 exploration wells on the Norwegian shelf this year.
