Danish offshore drilling company Maersk Drilling on Thursday confirmed a long-term contract with Tullow Oil for its Maersk Venturer drillship off Ghana.
The firm contract following the previously agreed conditional letter of award, and includes the provision of the ultra-deepwater drillship and additional services for a development drilling campaign at the TEN and Jubilee fields offshore Ghana.
The contract started in April 2021, with an estimated duration of around four years. The announcement comes just three days after Tullow announced it had started a multi-well drilling campaign using the Maersk Venturer.
Maersk Venturer is a 7th generation drillship that was delivered in 2014. It is currently operating at the Jubilee field offshore Ghana.
The estimated contract value for Maersk Drilling is approximately $370 million, excluding additional services provided and potential performance bonuses.
"The contract has a progressive day rate structure for the full duration. However, the contract contains certain provisions which, after an initial period of 18 months, permit a shift to a market-linked day rate structure and early termination for convenience by Tullow Ghana Ltd," Maersk Drillig said.
Jørn Madsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling, said: "We’re thrilled to have firmed up this long-term contract for Maersk Venturer, bringing it back to a basin where the rig and its crew previously performed stable and highly efficient operations for Tullow.
"We’re delighted to have started up operations again in Ghana where we will continue our work with the Ghanaian community, our partner Rigworld and other local suppliers who have contributed to our successful operations in the region."