Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of its second ultra harsh environment jackup, XLE-2, from the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore.
The rig will start its mobilization to the Norwegian North Sea in approximately two weeks, where it will begin a five year contract with Det norske oljeselskap ASA. The rig will be working on the Ivar Aasen field, which contains approximately 150MMboe.
The rig, which will be named at a ceremony in Norway in October, is the second in a series of four newbuild ultra harsh environment jackup rigs to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet in 2014-16. The four jackup rigs represent a total investment of US$2.6 billion.
The first three jackup rigs, including XLE-2, will be delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard in 2014-2015, and the fourth will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering shipyard in South Korea in 2016.
The total estimated contract value is approximately $700 million. Det norske has options to extend the contract up to a total of seven years.
Just last month, Det norske spud exploration well 2/9–5 S in production license 494, in the Norwegian North Sea, targeting the Heimdalshø prospect using the Maersk Giant jackup rig.
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