Norwegian energy company Equinor has signed a three-well contract with offshore drilling contractor Noble Corp. for the use of the Noble Lloyd Noble jack-up drilling rig at the Valemon field, in the North Sea, offshore Norway. The drilling is slated to begin in the summer of 2021.
The rig, built by Jurong shipyard in 2016, has been working for Equinor at the Mariner field in the UK since November 2016, with the original $451,000 a day contract set to expire early in September.
Equinor has now also opted to extend the rig's stay in the UK until late November 2020, after which the rig is set to move to a shipyard where it will prepare for the Valemon contract in Norway.
Apart from the three Valemon wells, Equinor will have an option to extend the contract by one more well at the Valemon field, and 11 wells that are not included in the same license. Noble Corporation has also signed a master frame agreement with Equinor.
The total value of the day rates for the fixed part of the contract is estimated at around USD 51 million. The Valemon drilling campaign is estimated to take around 230 days, running from June 2021 to January 2022.
Additional cost includes integrated services such as managed pressure drilling, treatment of cuttings and wastewater as well as running casing and tubing, further, rig modifications, mobilization, and demobilization.
"We are very pleased with the job this rig has done for us at the Mariner field off the coast of Scotland, in particular the safety culture,” says Erik G. Kirkemo, senior vice president of drilling & well operations.
“With strong on-board leadership, they have embedded best practice for safety and have not had any incidents so far in 2020. Through good planning and collaboration, they have achieved strong operational results close to what we define as a perfect well. We look forward to continuing the collaboration on the Norwegian continental shelf as well.”
Dubbed the world’s tallest jack-up rig, the 2016-built Noble Lloyd Noble can stand on the seabed in up to 150 meters of water under tough weather conditions.
"Equinor is exploring new ways of working with suppliers to increase efficiency and create value together. Long-term collaboration with suppliers who deliver on our expectations is an important element in that respect. This way we reward safe and efficient deliveries and keep building on experience and improvement results achieved in past projects,” says Peggy Krantz-Underland, Equinor’s chief procurement officer.
The contract is subject to the rig receiving an Acknowledgement of Compliance from the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway.
Valemon is a gas and condensate field between Kvitebjørn and Gullfaks Sør in the North Sea, located about 160 kilometres west of Bergen. Production from the field started in January 2015.