Rigs report: 'Watershed moment' as Denmark puts sunset on drilling in Danish North Sea

Low-emissions rig contracted

In the clean energy transition, hybrid and smart technology are proving lucrative for Danish drilling contractor Maersk Drilling, which scored another success with a low-emissions jack-up in the Norwegian North Sea. In a direct continuation of its previous work scope, Maersk Drilling has been awarded a one-well contract from OMV (Norge) for Maersk Integrator. An ultra-harsh environment CJ70 XLE jack-up rig, Maersk Integrator will drill one exploration well starting in mid-2021 in the Ommadawn prospect in PL 970 offshore Norway.

With an estimated duration of 52 days and value of US$14.3M, the contract includes mobilisation, but excludes integrated services provided and potential performance bonuses. A contract option would add approximately 28 days of well testing.

Upgrades underway on Maersk Integrator will add hybrid power to cut NOx emissions and data intelligence to further reduce energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. The performance bonus schemes included in the contract with OMV are based on rewarding reduced fuel consumption and reduced NOx emissions during the drilling operations.

The upgrades are similar to those for Maersk Intrepid, which were undertaken with the support of a grant from the Norwegian NOx Fund and a separate compensation scheme agreed with Aker BP.

Maersk Drilling chief operating officer Morten Kelstrup said the award offered “a new type of collaborative contractual set-up with OMV where we will focus on aligning incentives in the planning and execution of the drilling operation which again is expected to significantly reduce the uncertainty about overall well construction costs for our customer. We believe this kind of commercial model has the potential to increase exploration drilling activity in Norway and across the North Sea. The contract further shows the commercial value of our low-emissions upgrades. By reducing fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions and NOx emissions we are not only making contributions towards reaching emissions targets, but also creating value for our customer under the incentive schemes established in Norway.”

Riviera is producing a range of technical and operational webinars and virtual events with the industry’s foremost experts. Sign up to attend on our events page