Swift Drilling hired for long-term P&A job in North Sea

Dutch jack-up drilling specialist Swift Drilling has been awarded a long-term contract by Wintershall Noordzee to perform a plug and abandonment campaign in the Dutch and German North Sea.

Swift Drilling, a part of Van Es Holding, will employ the jack-up rig Swift 10 for the Wintershall Noordzee’s P&A campaign.

The company said last Thursday that the contract is expected to start this summer with a potential duration of three to four years.

The Swift 10 is a fully Dutch owned and operated rig, which together with Wintershall Noordzee, will focus on the plug and abandonment of offshore wells on the Continental Shelf of the Netherlands and Germany.

Swift said that, in the coming period, the rig will be revitalized and will be restarted after its original five-year LTI free campaign for Shell/Nam.

The Wintershall Noordzee and Swift team will use the Swift 10 with a small integrated team and focus on continuous improvement to effectively plug and abandon wells.

The Swift 10 is a 300ft Gusto MSC SEA-2750 fully automated drilling rig, delivered in 2011 currently located in Rotterdam where it is getting ready for the P&A campaign.

Erwin Lammertink, CEO of the Van Es Holding, said: “We’re extremely happy to revive the Swift 10 for Wintershall Noordzee. Together we share the ambition to create a long-term cooperation to P&A wells safe, efficient and economical as one team.

“The cooperation with Wintershall Noordzee aiming at the realization of our shared ambition so far has been enjoyable and the right basis for successful P&A campaign”.