Aker BP cleared to use Maersk Reacher rig on Valhall field

Norwegian E&P player Aker BP has received consent from the offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), for the use of the Maersk Reacher offshore rig as a quarters facility on the Valhall field.

Since a lot of work will be taking place on the Valhall field in the time ahead, Aker BP applied for consent to use Maersk Reacher as a quarters facility on the field from September/October 2018 until the end of 2020. The PSA granted the consent for the use of the rig at the Valhall field.

Maersk Reacher is a jack-up drilling rig built at the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore in 2009. The rig is operated by Maersk Drilling Norge AS. Maersk Reacher was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA on July 15, 2011.

It is worth noting that the company recently received consent from the PSA to use the Maersk Invincible rig on the Valhall Flank North (VFN) and Valhall Flank South (VFS) fields. The drilling operations will begin in October 2018.

Valhall field

Valhall is a giant oilfield in the southern Norwegian North Sea. Production started in 1982 and following the commissioning of the new PH platform in 2013 the field now has the potential to continue producing for several decades.

The Valhall Flank developments are two identical unmanned wellhead platforms each equipped with 16 drilling slots and located about six kilometers from the existing Valhall facilities where the well streams are processed.

The South Flank started production in 2003, and the North Flank came on stream in 2004.

The company submitted plans for development and operations of Valhall Flank West in December 2017 which would be developed from a new Normally Unmanned Installation (NUI), tied back to the Valhall field center for processing and export.

The platform will be remotely operated from the Valhall field center. First oil is expected in the fourth quarter of 2019.