Prosafe flotel finds new job with North Sea oil & gas operator

Oslo Stock Exchange-listed semi-submersible accommodation vessel owner and operator Prosafe has secured a letter of award (LoI) with North Sea-focused Ithaca Energy for one of its flotels, which is laid up at Scapa Flow in the UK. 

While the final contract award is subject to meeting certain site specific technical criteria, the firm duration of the assignment for the Safe Caledonia vessel, which is slated to start in June 2025, is six months with up to three months of options.

This deal will enable the floatel to provide gangway connected accommodation support at the Ithaca-operated Captain field in the North Sea, however, the vessel will undergo its five-yearly special periodic survey and other maintenance works before the start of the contract.

The Captain field was discovered in 1977, in Block 13/22a, located on the edge of the outer Moray Firth. The billion-barrel field achieved its first production in March 1997, thanks to technological developments in horizontal drilling and down-hole pump technology.

Ithaca’s Captain Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Phase l project was bolstered by the Captain EOR Phase II project, as the next phase of development at the Captain field, which is designed to significantly increase hydrocarbon recovery by injecting polymerized water into the reservoir through additional subsea wells, subsea infrastructure, and new topside facilities.

Prosafe explains that the value of the deal linked to the LoI with Ithaca is approximately $26 million to $37 million depending on options. The 1982-built moored with thruster assist (TAMS) semi-submersible ASV completed a 20-year life extension in 2012/13 and has beds for up to 454 personnel.   

Terje Askvig, CEO of Prosafe, commented: “The Safe Caledonia has provided consistently safe and reliable high quality accommodation support in the UK sector for many years, and we are very pleased to gain this LoI from a new client in Ithaca Energy. The reactivation and commitment of the Safe Caledonia reflects the continued tightening of the accommodation market in the North Sea and globally.” 

Prosafe has also won work for other vessels in its fleet recently. At the end of May 2024, the firm received a conditional letter of intent (CLoI) for one of its flotels to support a project off the coast of Western Australia. This follows a charter extension with an undisclosed company in January 2024 for a vessel working in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.