TotalEnergies prolongs rig’s drilling job offshore Africa

France’s energy giant TotalEnergies has given more work to a semi-submersible rig, owned by Northern Ocean (NOL) and managed by Odfjell Drilling, which is working in Africa.

The Deepsea Mira rig, which has been working with TotalEnergies under a multi-country drilling contract since December 2022, got its first extension with the French oil major in late 2023, followed by another for one well, with an additional well option. Last year, the rig worked offshore Namibia to appraise the Venus light oil discovery.

According to Northern Ocean, TotalEnergies has exercised the option to keep the Deepsea Mira rig on its assignment longer. As a result, the firm term of the contract has been extended by approximately 65 to 93 days. This extension is said to provide around $27 to $38 million of additional revenue backlog, increasing NOL’s firm backlog to approximately $515 to $545 million.

Arne Jacobsen, Chief Executive Officer of NOL, commented: “NOL is pleased with this extension, because it extends our good relationship with TotalEnergies and also demonstrates the capabilities of the rig. The Deepsea Mira, with Odfjell Drilling’s services, is one of the most capable rigs for year-round operations in harsh weather conditions. In the last four months, the company has increased its contract backlog by about USD 500 million.”

TotalEnergies resumed exploration drilling on Block 2913B in the prolific Orange Basin off the coast of Namibia, north of the Venus accumulation and close to the Mangetti-1X discovery, on October 20, 2024, with the Tamboti-1X exploration well, described as a 1 billion barrel target.

The Odfjell Drilling-managed Deepsea Mira rig is a sixth-generation enhanced and extended CS 60 E harsh environment design semi-submersible delivered by Hyundai Heavy in South Korea. This rig can work in water depths of up to 3,000 meters.