Transocean Barents, Transocean's semi-submersible drilling rig, which is used to operating in harsher environments such as those in Norway, the UK, and Canada, is now moving to the Mediterranean Sea.
Namely, TotalEnergies has informed that the rig has set sail from Norway and is now en route to Lebanon, where it will be used to drill in TotalEnergies' offshore Block 9.
TotalEnergies recently awarded Transocean Barents a one-well contract at a rate of $365,000, plus three one-well options at rates that may vary between $350,000 and $390,000. This contract starts in August and lasts until October 2023.
From October 2023 until January 2024, TotalEnergies exercised a one-well option for the Transocean Barents in the East Mediterranean Sea at a rate of $370,000. It's unclear if this contract is still in Lebanon or elsewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
"TotalEnergies is announcing the sailing of the Transocean Barents drilling rig from Norway heading towards Lebanon. This important step sets the [groundwork for] the start of the drilling operations in Block 9 offshore Lebanon," said Romain de La Martinière, MD TotalEnergies EP Cyprus & Country Chair - MD TotalEnergies EP Egypt & Liban, in a social media post on Monday.
TotalEnergies is the operator of Block 9, with its partners being Eni and Qatar Energy. According to Welligence Energy Analytics, Total will use the Transocean Barents to drill the Qana gas prospect in Block 9, which it says is on trend with the giant finds made to the southwest in Israeli waters.