Statoil has secured final approval from the Norway Government to start exploration activities on the Apollo prospect in the Barents Sea.
The approval comes a day after Norwegian police arrested Greenpeace activists who boarded Transocean Spitsbergen drilling ship.
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The activists boarded the rig in the early hours of 27 May 2014, when it was on its way for planned exploration drilling in the Hoop area of the Barents Sea.
The Norway Ministry of Climate and Environment said that Statoil’s drilling does not violate the general guidelines for petroleum activities in the Barents Sea.
Statoil senior vice-president for exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf Irene Rummelhoff said: "Greenpeace has once again performed an illegal action.
"Statoil respects people’s right to make a legal protest and we feel it is important to have a democratic debate around the oil industry.
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By GlobalData"Our exploration drilling on Apollo is taking place in an area that has been impact assessed, opened up and awarded by Norwegian authorities.
"We have established robust plans for the operation and feel confident they can be carried out safely and without accidents."
The Apollo prospect is located in the Barents Sea, where more than 100 exploration wells have been drilled in the past 34 years.
The exploration will be carried out around 300km from the mainland and 170km from the island of Bjørnøya.
Rummelhoff added: "Our top priority is to have safe operations without any harm to people or the environment.
"Delayed exploration activities come at a cost, however, which we estimate to be at a level of NOK7.5m per day.
"In addition there are the costs to society."
Image: The Transocean Spitsbergen drilling rig. Photo: courtesy of Kenneth Engelsvold.
