Aker BP gains consent to use Maersk Invincible rig on Valhall field

Norwegian oil company Aker BP has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) for plugging and removal work at the Valhall drilling platform off Norway using the Maersk Invincible drilling rig.

The PSA said on Wednesday that production from the Valhall drilling platform would be shut down over the next few years.

According to the offshore regulator, only one well is currently producing. It is worth noting that this consent applies to plugging and removal works on four wells.

The plugging and removal will be done by the Maersk Invincible ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig.

It was delivered by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea in January 2017. The rig arrived in Norway in late March 2017.

The rig is currently under an $812 million five-year firm contract with Aker BP for plug and abandonment work on the Valhall field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The contract could last as long as ten years since Aker BP has five one-year extension options as well.

As for the 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 has the potential to continue producing for decades.

The field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent since production started. The current ambition is to produce another billion barrels over the next 40 years.

Two identical unmanned wellhead platforms, each equipped with 16 drilling slots, were added on the Valhall field in the 2000s. The South Flank started production in 2003, and the North Flank came on stream in 2004.

In December 2019, Aker BP produced first oil from the Valhall Flank West project – also an unmanned wellhead platform.