In a Jan. 17 operations update 88 Energy Ltd. said the permit to drill the Merlin 2 well is in the final stages of review by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and that snow road construction and the commissioning of the Doyon Arctic Fox rig have begun ahead of an expected February spud date.
The appraisal well will be drilled in Project Peregrine in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska region of Alaska's North Slope.
The Merlin 2 drill site is to the southeast of Merlin 1 and closer to the shelf break where 88 Energy expects enhanced sand thickness and quality,
88 Energy said permitting and planning for Merlin 2 was "largely complete, with the well on track to spud in February 2022."
The company said it's "aware of media reports of correspondence to the BLM from the Center for Biological Diversity" with respect to the permit to drill.
"The CBD is a not-for-profit environmental activist group in the U.S.," 88 Energy said. "With the current status of the review of the permit to drill by the BLM, as well as numerous other related approvals and permits from various government agencies, 88 Energy is nearing completion of permitting and the well remains on track to spud in February 2022."
- KAY CASHMAN
See story in Jan. 23 issue of Petroleum News, available online Jan. 20 at www.petroleumnews.com
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