With clearance in hand, Shelf Drilling focuses on final rig prep for ops in Norwegian waters

UAE-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling (SHLF) has now received the Norwegian offshore safety regulator’s stamp of approval after the watchdog’s initial rejection of its application to obtain an acknowledgment of compliance (AoC) for one of its jack-up rigs, which is gearing up for work on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) with the country’s state-owned energy giant, Equinor.

In June 2024, the company’s subsidiary, Shelf Drilling North Sea (SDNS), which has been brought into its fold following a business combination structured as a triangular merger, received notice from the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) that its application for an acknowledgment of compliance for the Shelf Drilling Barsk jack-up rig was not accepted.

The rejection put a spanner in the works, delaying the planned drilling activities, since the rig could not start its contract in Norway without the AoC. However, the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority has now issued the AoC for the Shelf Drilling Barsk jack-up rig, thus, Shelf Drilling expects to begin operations in the coming weeks.

Greg O’Brien, CEO of Shelf Drilling, commented: “This marks a critical step in preparing the Shelf Drilling Barsk for its upcoming contract with Equinor. I would like to extend my appreciation to our teams for their hard work and dedication during this important process, ensuring that we meet the regulatory requirements for operations in Norway.

“As we approach contract commencement in the coming weeks, our focus is to complete our customer’s final rig acceptance process and commence operations in a safe and efficient manner. We look forward to delivering outstanding operational performance for our customer.”

The jack-up won a contract with Equinor in April 2023 for operations at the Sleipner Vest field, which is located in blocks 15/6 and 15/9. After being discovered in 1974, the field started gas and condensate production in August 1996. This field is developed with two platforms: Sleipner T and Sleipner B, where a recent smoke incident led to production shutdown and the unmanned platform remains offline. The Alfa Nord satellite field was tied back to the Sleipner T platform as part of the development.

The Shelf Drilling Barsk rig’s initial contract was for two wells, however, the deal entailed options for two additional wells, with the planned start-up of operations originally expected between May and July 2024. A two-well extension with an estimated duration of 254 days and options for three wells at the Gudrun field was handed to the jack-up by the Norwegian energy heavyweight in April 2024.

The 2016-built Shelf Drilling Barsk, former Noble Lloyd Noble, jack-up rig was bought by Shelf Drilling due to Noble’s efforts to remedy competition concerns related to its merger with Maersk Drilling, which was concluded in 2022. The rig features the GustoMSC CJ70-X150-ST design and can accommodate 140 people.

The AoC clearance in Norway follows a new set of drilling assignments for two jack-up rigs in West Africa. Shelf Drilling also recently sold a jack-up rig slated for work on a decommissioning assignment in Malaysian waters with its new owner.