Wintershall Dea’s drilling ops with Transocean rig cleared for take-off

Wintershall Dea Norge, a subsidiary of Germany’s oil and gas company Wintershall Dea, has secured a green light from the Norwegian offshore safety regulator for the drilling of four wells in the Norwegian Sea, using one of Transocean’s semi-submersible rigs.

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has granted Wintershall Dea consent to use Transocean’s Transocean Norge semi-submersible rig at the Maria field, which covers the drilling of three production wells and one water injector well. 

Located on Haltenbanken in the Norwegian Sea, 25 kilometers east of the Kristin field, in a water depth of 300 meters, the Maria field was discovered in 2010 while the plan for development and production (PDO) was approved in 2015. This field, which is developed as a subsea tie-back with two templates, has five producers and two water injectors. The production started in 2017.

The Transocean Norge sixth-generation Moss Maritime CS60 semi-submersible rig was constructed at Jurong Shipyard in Singapore. The rig can accommodate 150 people and its maximum drilling depth is 40,000 ft. While the semi-sub won a 17-well contract in September 2022, a one-well extension with Wintershall Dea was also recently secured for the rig.

The original contract, with day rates between $350,000 and $430,000, was awarded after two oil and gas companies, Wintershall Dea and OMV, entered into an exclusive partnership with Transocean for the use of the rig for the drilling of all firm and additional potential wells in the period 2023 to 2027.

The Transocean Norge rig is the first semi-submersible rig that secured the Abate (Power+) notation, designed to reflect the best industry practices in greenhouse gas abatement for offshore units.

Currently, Harbour Energy is in the process of acquiring Wintershall Dea‘s entire non-Russian oil and gas portfolio along with carbon capture and storage assets in Europe to bring one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse independent oil and gas companies to life.

This $11.2 billion share and cash deal boosts Harbour’s portfolio with producing and development assets as well as exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, and Denmark.