Scottish toolpusher Richard Grant can feel the "spud fever" coming on. He is responsible for ensuring that everything is in place before the spudding of a well.

The blowout-preventer (BOP) also has to be overhauled and drilling mud mixed, explains Mr Grant. “The spud fever creeps up on you each time you approach a new well.

“Once you’ve spudded, things run by and large automatically. The most hectic time is just before the start. There’s a tension in the air – you can feel it take hold.”

He pops up to the drill floor to take a look at the top drive – the motor which drives the drill string down into the seabed – and makes a few comments to roughneck Audun Iversen.

On the deck below lie the huge drill bits which will eventually be chewing their way through thick layers of rock in order to reach a pocket of oil or gas – hopefully.

Transocean Leader is one of six units chartered by Statoil to drill for new oil and gas on the NCS.

They spudded no less than 31 wells last year compared with a planned 25. Twenty-two finds were made. The programme for 2009 embraces 22 wells.