TotalEnergies cuts short Shelf Drilling rig’s North Sea gig

TotalEnergies EP Denmark, a subsidiary of France’s energy giant TotalEnergies, has decided to break off a deal for a drilling assignment, which a jack-up rig owned by Shelf Drilling, a UAE-headquartered offshore drilling contractor, is carrying out in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark.

TotalEnergies has sent a notice of contract termination for the Shelf Drilling Winner jack-up rig to Shelf Drilling, which will become effective in August 2025, a year before it was scheduled to conclude in August 2026, subject to two additional options to extend further into late 2027.

The rig owner claims that its drilling unit has consistently delivered “outstanding operational and safety performance” while under contract with the European energy giant. However, TotalEnergies has informed the firm that the rig will be released in the summer of 2025.

This will be done after the completion of the final scheduled well activities due to changes in the 2025 work program. The decision was made following the French oil major’s thorough evaluation of the original schedule.

After a final investment decision (FID) in January 2024, made by the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), including TotalEnergies (operator, 43.2%), BlueNord (36.8%), and Nordsøfonden (20%), to drill the Harald East Middle Jurassic well (HEMJ), drilling activities began in June 2024.

Thanks to this, the Shelf Drilling Winner jack-up rig found gas condensate resources in the Harald East area, close to the Norwegian border, 250 km off the west coast of Denmark. The jack-up has been working for TotalEnergies in Denmark since October 2022.

With a maximum drilling depth of 35,000 feet (10.67 kilometers) and a water depth of 400 feet (around 122 meters), the 2014-built Shelf Drilling Winner rig is of Friede & Goldman JU-3000N design and can accommodate 150 people.

“Shelf Drilling will continue to focus on delivering operational excellence during the remainder of the term and will actively market the rig for future opportunities,” underlined the rig owner.

TotalEnergies is busy ensuring full production capacity at its natural gas redevelopment project in the Danish sector of the North Sea, which is expected to be achieved shortly.