Oil and gas company Neptune Energy has awarded a two-well contract extension for the semi-submersible drilling rig Deepsea Yantai.
The rig, owned by China's CIMC Raffles, is managed by the Norwegian offshore drilling firm Odfjell Drilling.
Odfjell Drilling said Monday that the scope of the work under the two-well deal with Neptune Energy was estimated to take 60 days.
The contract will start in direct continuation of the two wells contracted with Neptune Energy Norge, as announced on October 11, 2022.
" As a result of the signing of this extension, the backlog for the Deepsea Yantai is expected to now be pushed back to the start of Q2 2024," Odfjell Drilling said. Financial details were not disclosed.
The Deepsea Yantai is a harsh environment semi-submersible drilling rig able of operating at - 22℃. It can to operate at a water depth up to 500 meters and drill wells down to a depth of 8000 meters.
Neptune Energy recently used the rig in the Norwegian Sea, where it made a discovery at the Calypso prospect.
Preliminary estimates are between 1 - 3.5 million standard cubic meters (MSm3) of recoverable oil equivalents, corresponding to 6-22 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), the company said.
According to Neptune Energy, Calypso is the company's third discovery in six months on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The Calypso discovery is in one of Neptune's core areas, 14 kilometers north of the Draugen field and 22 kilometers north of the Njord A platform. Neptune said it was considering developing the discovery by linking it to existing nearby platforms.