Rigs report: UK's CMA delays Noble-Maersk decision, oil and gas flows hit by Norwegian offshore workers' strike

At week 27, 2022, the number of active rigs recorded modest increases. Jack-ups stood at 383 active units while floater numbers rose by two active units to 141, according to the latest statistics from Westwood Global Energy

In merger news, the UK’s antitrust regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was expected to issue a decision on the Maersk-Noble merger this week but has now extended the consideration until 1 September 2022.

In late June, Noble Corp issued an update on its proposed merger with Maersk Drilling, announcing that Noble would sell five jack-up rigs to a new subsidiary of Shelf Drilling, as the company sought to remedy concerns over the merger previously identified by the CMA.

In its notice of extension of the ’consideration of undertakings,’ the CMA said, "it will not be possible to reach a decision on acceptance of the undertaking by 6 July 2022. The reason for this is the undertakings involve the divestment of a business to an upfront buyer. Accordingly, the CMA considers there are special reasons for the extension. The CMA also considers this extension does not materially increase the risk of an anti-competitive outcome from the merger and there is a sufficient likelihood it will be able to accept the undertaking before the end of the extended period."

• Rigs report: Noble-Maersk merger set for CMA approval, Equinor divests from Ekofisk field
• Rigs report: Maersk-Noble merger may require divestment of North Sea rigs

In related news, Maersk Drilling received a contract from Shell UK for the harsh-environment jack-up rig Maersk Resilient to drill the Pensacola well in the UK sector of the North Sea. 
The two-month contract will commence later this year in direct continuation of the rig’s previous work scope with Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM). The 106-m, Gusto-engineered MSC CJ 50 high-efficiency jack-up rig was delivered in 2008 and is currently operating for NAM in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.

Elsewhere in the North Sea, Equinor has initiated a production shutdown at the Gudrun, Oseberg South and Oseberg East fields on the Norwegian continental shelf and has revealed plans to extend this to four more wells, the result of strike action taken by offshore workers over wage demands. 

The background for the strike is that the members of workers’ union Lederne voted in a referendum not to accept a proposal tabled by a mediator working with the union and government authorities. Wage negotiations for offshore personnel between the labour organisations and the employers’ organisation, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, have been ongoing.

Total production from Gudrun, Oseberg South and Oseberg East is around 89,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, of which 27,500 boe per day is natural gas, according to Equinor.

An extension of the strike has been planned for the Heidrun, Kristin and Aasta Hansteen fields, beginning 6 July. Total production from Heidrun, Kristin/Tyrihans and Aasta Hansteen is around 333,000 boe per day, of which 264,000 boe per day is natural gas, Equinor said.

"To Equinor, this means the above-mentioned installations will perform a controlled shutdown of production, including the Tyrihans field, which is tied to the Kristin platform. A further escalation has been announced from 9 July at Sleipner, Gullfaks A and Gullfaks C. The consequences of this escalation are not yet clear," a statement from Equinor said.

The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association said initial strike action will cut off 13% of the nation’s daily gas exports and 341,000 b/d of oil. Norway is Europe’s second-largest energy supplier after Russia. Notably, the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline also will be closed for 10 days for maintenance work from 11 July.