Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP has exercised a scope-based option to use Odfjell Drilling's Deepsea Nordkapp semi-submersible drilling rig to drill development wells at the recently approved Kobra East Gekko (KEG) project.
Odfjell Drilling said that the exercised option covered the time necessary to complete four development wells at the KEG project, in the Alvheim area, offshore Norway.
Operations on the KEG development wells are expected to start in January 2023 with a combined duration of approximately 430 days.
With the current term-based contract ending in June 2023, the newly exercised KEG development scope represents approximately 8.5 months of additional backlog for the Deepsea Nordkapp occupying the unit into Q1 2024, Odfjell Drilling said.
The approximate contract value for the exercised optional scope is USD 80 million (excluding any integrated services). In addition, a performance bonus will be applicable. An additional option period has been agreed which, if exercised shall follow completion of the KEG development wells.
The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy last Thursday approved Aker BP's plan for development and operation (PDO) for Kobra East & Gekko (KEG) project.
Aker BP as the operator, and its license partners ConocoPhillips and Lundin Energy filed the PDO to the Ministry in June 2021. The KEG development will extend the lifetime of the Alvheim field, improve production, and reduce unit costs.
Total investments in the project are projected at around NOK 8 billion (~$1 billion) and production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2024. Recoverable reserves in KEG are now estimated at around 50 million barrels of oil equivalents (mmboe), Aker BP said.
The development comprises the two discoveries Kobra East and Gekko in licence 203. The field will be developed with subsea installations connected to the Alvheim FPSO on the Alvheim field. The Alvheim field is located in the Norwegian part of the central North Sea near the UK border.
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