Esgian has released its Week 7 Rig Analytics Market Roundup saying “The earnings season for offshore drilling contractors is officially open following Odfjell Drilling's quarterly report on Thursday. Additionally, new contract awards have been confirmed for Borr Drilling, Noble, Transocean, and Valaris rigs.”
Report Outline
Contracts
Trident Energy has cancelled the contract for work with Island Drilling 4,000-ft semisubmersible Island Innovator offshore Equatorial Guinea. Trident's partner has stated that the rig is not in a condition to safely drill the wells.
Island Drilling has responded to Trident Energy’s termination of the drilling contract for the 4,000-ft semisubmersible Island Innovator and stated that the company “is evaluating all legal recourse at its disposal to contest the termination.” The rig had begun a drilling contract on the Trident Energy-operated Block G offshore Equatorial Guinea.
Borr Drilling has announced new contract commitments totalling 495 days and $82.2 million in contract revenue for three of its premium jackup rigs, excluding mobilisation and demobilisation compensation.
Petrogas has extended its contract for Noble 350-ft harsh environment jackup Noble Resolute in the North Sea by an additional 60 days, starting in March 2025.
TotalEnergies has awarded Transocean 12,000-ft drillship Deepwater Skyros a three-well extension offshore Angola at a dayrate of $400,000, to run from January to June 2025.
Transocean 12,000-ft drillship Deepwater Invictus is working on a 40-day contract for an undisclosed client in the US GOM.
Following a recent announcement from an operator, Valaris has now confirmed a new contract award from Shell for its 400-ft heavy-duty jackup Valaris 123 in the UK North Sea.
Drilling Activity and Discoveries
The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has granted Wintershall Dea consent for exploration drilling in the North Sea off Norway.
The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has granted Wellesley Petroleum consent for exploration drilling in the North Sea offshore Norway.
The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has granted Aker BP consent for exploration drilling in the North Sea.
Galp Energia is preparing to drill the Mopane-2X well on PEL 83 offshore Namibia with the Odfjell Drilling-managed 10,000-ft semisubmersible Hercules.
Thailand-focused Valeura Energy has shared drilling plans for its Wassana and Nong Yao oil fields in the Gulf of Thailand.
Vår Energi is increasing exploration activity in 2024 compared to 2023, with involvement in 16 planned wells targeting over 150 mmboe of net risked prospective resources
TotalEnergies has completed the installation of the Fénix platform on concession CMA-1 offshore Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina.
Vår Energi has completed the drilling of wells 25/7-12 S and A in the North Sea off Norway, both of which are dry.
Eni has announced the successful completion of the Cronos-2 well, drilled to evaluate the Cronos-1 discovery in Block 6, offshore Cyprus, made in August 2022.
Equinor’s exploration well 35/11-28 S (Harden Sør) in the North Sea off Norway proved to be dry.
The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has granted Aker BP consent for exploration drilling in the North Sea. The consent is related to the drilling of the well 24/6-5, targeting Alvheim Deep, located in production licence 203.
Demand
UK’s Labour Party has proposed to extend and increase the rate of the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), also known as the windfall tax, on oil and gas producers in the country. Offshore Energies UK, a trade body for the sector, has asked for an urgent meeting with the Labour leadership following plans revealed on Thursday to extend the windfall tax further.
Portuguese company Galp Energia is assessing new options for exploration offshore São Tomé and Príncipe beyond 2024.
Mobilisation/Rig Moves
Transocean 12,000-ft drillship Deepwater Aquila is preparing to leave Singapore for Rio De Janeiro, Brazil shortly, where the rig has a contract with Petrobras lined up.
Well-Safe Solutions’ 1,200-ft semisub Well-Safe Defender is en route to the Appleton field in the UK North Sea.
Transocean 12,000-ft drillship Discoverer Inspiration has left the US GOM and is en route to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
Other News
Baron Oil's subsidiary SundaGas has entered into contracts to conduct a survey at the planned offshore drilling location for the Chuditch-2 appraisal well in Timor-Leste.
Tower Resources has received formal notification from the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development in Cameroon of the extension of the first exploration period of the Thali production-sharing contract to 4 February 2025.
Oil and gas company Jadestone Energy has confirmed its participation in the bid to acquire Woodside's participating interests in the Macedon and Greater Pyrenees Projects offshore Western Australia.
The SFL Corporation-owned harsh-environment CJ70 jackup Linus is scheduled to undergo its 10-year special periodic survey (SPS), due before June 2024, in the coming period.
Jadestone Energy has acquired a non-operated 16.67% working interest in the Cossack, Wanaea, Lambert, and Hermes (CWLH) oil fields development, offshore Western Australia, from Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd.
ADNOC and bp have agreed to form a new joint venture (JV) focused on natural gas in Egypt.
The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has confirmed that bp’s exploration licences EL 1168 and EL 1148 in the Orphan Basin offshore eastern Newfoundland have expired as of mid-January 2024.
Offshore drilling contractor Odfjell Drilling recorded an increase in its revenues both on a quarterly and yearly basis. Odfjell Drilling posted Q4 2023 revenues of $192 million, compared to revenues of $167 million in Q4 2022.
Dolphin Drilling has announced the beginning of operations and the final transfer of ownership for two semisub rigs acquired from Transocean.