Prosafe flotel firms up North Sea assignment

Oslo Stock Exchange-listed semi-submersible accommodation vessel owner and operator Prosafe has inked a deal with North Sea-focused Ithaca Energy for one of its flotels, which enables the reactivation of the semi-submersible unit laid up at Scapa Flow in the UK.

Following a letter of award (LoI) from July 2024, Prosafe has now signed a contract with Ithaca for the Safe Caledonia unit to provide accommodation support at the oil and gas player’s Captain field in the UK sector of the North Sea.

Located on the edge of the outer Moray Firth, the Captain field was discovered in 1977 within Block 13/22a. The 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.

Terje Askvig, CEO of Prosafe, commented: “Prosafe is extremely pleased that we have formalised the LoI into contract and we very much look forward to working closely with Ithaca Energy deploying the Safe Caledonia at the Captain field in the UK. As the market continues to tighten, reactivation of the Safe Caledonia will provide optionality to our clients in the years to come.”

The Safe Caledonia vessel will stay at this job for six months, starting from June 2025, however, Ithaca has up to three months of extension options at its disposal to prolong the unit’s assignment further. The contract’s total value is around $26 – $37 million, depending on optional work that may be exercised.

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.   

The contract award with Ithaca comes days after Prosafe ironed out the terms of a deal for another vessel to support a project off the coast of Australia. Several months ago, the firm got more work in the Gulf of Mexico.