OMV books Maersk rig for HPHT well in North Sea

Danish offshore rig owner Maersk Drilling has secured a one-well contract with OMV (Norge), which will employ the low-emission jack-up rig Maersk Intrepid to drill a high-pressure, high-temperature exploration well off Norway.

The rig will drill in the Oswig prospect in Block 30/5C of the Northern North Sea basin offshore Norway, Maersk said on Friday. The contract is expected to start in mid-2022 and Maersk Drilling and OMV (Norge) are in discussions to add additional services to the scope. The contract includes a one-well option to drill the Eirik exploration well.

As the first of Maersk Drilling’s rigs to be upgraded to a hybrid, low-emission rig, Maersk Intrepid produced an initial data point showing fuel consumption and CO2 emission reductions of approximately 25 per cent compared to the rig’s average baseline, along with NOx emission reductions of approximately 95 per cent. The contract with OMV (Norge) contains an emission reduction bonus scheme based on rewarding CO2 emission reductions in addition to operational performance bonuses.

“We’re delighted that OMV once again trusts us with the exploration of their prospects and look forward to building further on the close and extremely efficient collaboration we established during Maersk Integrator’s campaign for the customer earlier this year,” says COO Morten Kelstrup of Maersk Drilling.

Maersk Intrepid is an ultra-harsh environment CJ70 XLE jack-up rig, designed for year-round operations in the North Sea and featuring hybrid, low-emission upgrades. It was delivered in 2014 and is currently operating for Equinor offshore Norway. Maersk’s latest fleet status report shows that the rig’s contract with Equinor, with a day rate of $369,000, is set to end in January 2022.