Shell books Stena drillship for Suriname campaign

KE STP and BG International, Suriname subsidiaries of UK-headquartered energy giant Shell, have signed a contract with Stena Drilling for a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) from its fleet.

The MODU in question, Stena DrillMAX, is set to embark on the drilling campaign with Shell’s affiliates in the second half of 2025. The deal entails two firm wells and two optional wells.

Built in 2008, Stena DrillMAX is the first of the company’s DrillMAX series vessels and is a harsh environment DP Class 3 drillship capable of drilling in water depths up to 10,000 feet. With a maximum drilling depth of 35,000 feet, the drillship can accommodate 180 people.

In late January, TotalEnergies hired the rig to drill an exploration well in the second half of the year, also in Suriname.

Last summer, the rig was busy working for Exxonmobil in Canada. The exploration drilling program was carried out in Newfoundland and Labrador’s exploration license (EL) 1169.

Shell has also been keeping busy in the Americas recently. Last week, the UK major signed a contract with Subsea7 to deploy a floating production system (FPS) from its fleet at the Sparta deepwater development, previously known as North Platte, in the Gulf of America.