Stena Drilling orders MPD system for another drillship

Offshore drilling contractor Stena Drilling has ordered a fourth managed pressure drilling (MPD) system for the Stena Forth drillship. Once the system is installed, the rig owner’s entire fleet will be MPD capable.

Stena Drilling said on Monday that the delivery of the MPD system for the Stena Forth is expected in 3Q/4Q 2021.

The purchase of this additional system means that 100 per cent of Stena Drilling’s drillship fleet will be fully MPD capable.

According to the rig owner, ten MPD wells have been drilled since 2016 and a further ten are planned for this year alone.

The Stena Forth drillship is currently working for Tullow Oil on a well located in Block 47, offshore Suriname. The contract was awarded at the beginning of September 2020.

The rig arrived at Tullow’s well location in late January 2021. The drilling is expected to last about 70 days with an estimated budget of $60 million.

After that, the drillship is scheduled to start working for CNOOC offshore Newfoundland and Labrador between April 2021 and June 2021.

The contract, which is expected to last around 90 days, was awarded back in October 2020.

Bassoe Offshore estimated that day rate for the deal would be around $180,000.

Later on, the Stena Forth is expected to mobilize to the Mediterranean Sea offshore Israel between July and August 2021.

The rig was hired by Noble Energy Mediterranean – a subsidiary of Chevron following its recent acquisition of Noble Energy.

The rig will be used for the decommissioning of four wells for Chevron. The work is estimated to take around 80 days under a day rate of $175,000.

There is an option to extend the contract for up to three P&A wells and one completion in Israel, as well as one further option well to be drilled off Cyprus.