Saipem rig staying with Norwegian oil & gas firm until 2026-end

Italy’s engineering, drilling, and construction services provider Saipem has secured more work with Aker BP, a Norwegian oil and gas player, for a semi-submersible rig, which is working on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

This contract extension for Saipem’s Scarabeo 8 semi-submersible rig will prolong the unit’s assignment in Norway until the end of 2026. The semi-sub was hired on a three-year deal, worth $325 million, in March 2022. The rig started this contract in early 2023.

“Scarabeo 8 is our semi-submersible drilling rig for harsh environments operating both in deep water with a dynamic positioning system and in shallow water with a dedicated mooring system. This drilling rig meets the highest standards of the most stringent regulations and has proven track records in the North Sea, from Western Norway to the Barents Sea,” outlined Saipem.

With an accommodation capacity of 140 people and a maximum drilling depth of 35,000 ft, Scarabeo 8 is a sixth-generation dual derrick deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig. Based on a recent video, Saipem’s Scarabeo 8 semi-submersible rig participated in the trials for a core drilling technology solution.

The rig came to Aker BP’s Hassel prospect (7324/8-4 exploration well) in the Barents Sea three months ago, as part of a trio, including Viasat (well 7324/6-3) and Ferdinand Nord (well 7324/6-2), slated to be drilled east of the Wisting field.

Aker BP recently began production from an offshore oil field project in the North Sea, which has been tied back to a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel operating off the coast of Norway.

On the other hand, Saipem has tucked a multibillion-dollar deal under its belt for an offshore project designed to help maintain natural gas production from the biggest field offshore Qatar.