OKEA secures newbuild Odfjell rig for Draugen wells

Oil and gas company OKEA has secured the Odfjell Drilling-owned semi-submersible rig Deepsea Nordkapp to drill for upside opportunities within and surrounding the Draugen field offshore Norway. 

OKEA secured the newbuild semi-sub drilling rig Deepsea Nordkapp – which was delivered to its owner in January 2019 – on behalf of PL093 license partners. The drilling operation is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2019, the oil company said on Monday.

Deepsea Nordkapp will drill one infill pilot well in the Draugen field and one exploration well in the “Skumnisse” prospect, north-east of Draugen, both within the OKEA-operated PL093 license.

Deepsea Nordkapp is a 6th generation dynamically positioned harsh environment and winterized semi-submersible drilling rig on a two-year lease to Aker BP. The rig is expected to start drilling for Aker BP in May. OKEA is subleasing the rig from Aker BP.

The CEO of OKEA, Erik Haugane, commented: “OKEA is very pleased that we will be drilling the company’s first wells as an operator on the NCS already in 2019. This is an important milestone for us. The planned drilling program is a vital step in realizing the ambition of enhanced oil recovery from the Draugen field and prolonged production from the Draugen platform.”

OKEA as operator of PL 093, together with the license partners Petoro and Neptune, has the ambition to substantially extend the life of the Draugen oil field into the 2040s through continued focus on cost efficient operations, additional resources within the license and near field exploration.

According to OKEA, there are several potential follow-up targets identified in the area that might be drilled over the next years to further increase the volume in the Draugen area.

It is worth reminding that the Deepsea Nordkapp rig will also be used by Polish oil company PGNiG to drill its first operated exploration well on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Namely, PGNi in March signed an agreement with Aker BP for the lease of the Odfjell Deepsea Norkapp for the drilling on the Shrek prospect within the PGNiG operated PL838 license in the Norwegian Sea.

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