Helicopter operator CHC Group has been awarded a contract from Centrica to provide helicopter services in support of its forthcoming drilling program at the Fogelberg field in the Norwegian Sea.

CHC said on Thursday that the operation was scheduled to begin in February/March 2018, flying to the Fogelberg field from the company's base in Kristiansund.

Mark Abbey, CHC regional director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), said: “We are excited to work with Centrica as their aviation partner in this project. This project allows us to continue to build on our decades of experience supporting oil and gas customers on the Norwegian Continental Shelf as we continue to evolve our services and technology to best meet their needs.”

The support on the project will be provided by a Sikorsky S-92, a helicopter that reached more than one million fleet hours of service in 2016.

The Centrica-operated Fogelberg discovery, found in 2010, is located in the Norwegian Sea in license PL433, about 10 kilometers from the Statoil-operated Åsgard field. Centrica has 50% interest in the discovery, and its partners Faroe Petroleum and Dea Norge each have a 25% stake.

Fogelberg is estimated to contain between 6.3 and 22.5 billion standard cubic meters of gas and between 1.3 and 5.2 million standard cubic meters of associated condensate.

It is worth reminding that Centrica recently hired an Island Drilling rig, the Island Innovator, for the drilling of one HTHP well at the Fogelberg field with options for two additional wells. Start of the project is scheduled for the first quarter of 2018, for a duration of 130–200 days.