OMV cleared to use Maersk rig for North Sea well

Norway’s regulator Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has granted OMV consent to drill an exploration well in the North Sea, using a Maersk Drilling-owned jack-up rig.

The PSA said last Friday it had given OMV consent to drill the exploration well 1/3-13 in the North Sea.

The well is located in production licence 970 where OMV Norge is the operator with a 50 per cent interest. Neptune Energy and Petoro are OMV’s partners with 30 per cent and 20 per cent interest, respectively.

The prospect named Ommadawn will be drilled using the Maersk Integrator jack-up rig. The water depth at the site is 71 meters.

According to the regulator, drilling operations will have a duration of 41 days in case of a dry hole or 79 days in case of a discovery.

The earlies start-up date for these drilling activities is 1 May 2021.

OMV awarded a contract to Maersk Drilling for the use of the Maersk Integrator rig on one well back in December 2020.

The contract, with an estimated duration of 52 days, was valued at around $14.3 million, including mobilization, but excluding integrated services provided and potential performance bonuses.

The Maersk Integrator rig earlier this year was also approved for work on Aker BP’s Tambar field off Norway, scheduled for February 2021.

Before starting the Tambar work for Aker BP, the jack-up was scheduled to undergo a series of upgrades to turn it into a hybrid, low-emission rig.

The Maersk Integrator is an ultra-harsh environment CJ70 XLE jack-up rig, designed for year-round operations in the North Sea. It was delivered in 2015.