Statoil terminated its contract with Diamond Offshore Drilling's mid-water semisubmersible the Ocean Vanguard eight months ahead of schedule, the Houston-based shipowner announced on 4 June 2014.
Statoil's Communication Manager Ørjan Heradstveit told Reuters on 4 June that the Norwegian explorer canceled the contract due to "technical aspects of the rig," but chose not to go into further detail because of confidentiality agreements. In a statement, Diamond Offshore disputes the contract cancellation saying, "[The company] intends to defend its rights under the drilling contract."
Diamond Offshore listed the Ocean Vanguard's dayrate at US$454,000. The original contract would have ended in late February 2015.
Statoil received approval to use the semisub for drilling a pilot hole at 16/2-U-7 in the Johan Sverdrup field from Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) in late March, and was expected to work on 16/2-U-7 after drilling operations at Johan Sverdrup PL265 wells 16/2-19 and 16/2-19A completed on 2 May, according to an announcement by partner Lundin Petroleum AS.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said that the Ocean Vanguard drilled wells 16/2-19 and 16/2-19A to vertical depths of 2024m and 1971m, respectively, below the sea surface; the latter had a measured depth of 2348m. Both wells were terminated in bedrock, the NPD said.
The North Sea Johan Sverdrup field is located 36km south of the Grane field, 56km northeast of the Sleipner field (Sleipner Øst) and approximately 144km west of Utsira. Water depths at the location to be drilled is listed at 116m.
Built in 1982, the DNV-classed Ocean Vanguard received acknowledgement of compliance (AoC) from the PSA in July 2004.
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