This week, while one drilling contractor has mitigated the impact of jackup contract suspensions in Saudi Arabia, reports of potential new suspensions have surfaced—this time in Mexico. On the floater side, Transocean has firmed up more work in the US GOM, Australia, and Norway.

By Nermina Kulović Čilić, Esgian

Contracts

According to market sources, Mexican state oil company Pemex is considering contract suspensions for jackups. Pemex is understood to be analyzing contract suspensions and other alternatives in order to cut down on its costs and manage debt with drilling contractors and other service companies. A letter dated 17 October 2024 and sent from the General Directorate of Pemex Exploración y Producción to the company’s drilling and well intervention services manager referenced earlier instructions to optimize resources for October to December 2024 and suggested suspending work with four jackups after they finish up various jobs related to well interventions and production drilling in the shallow water Tabasco area. These four jackups are Peforadora Mexico 300-ft unit Zacatecas, CP Latina 400-ft unit La Covadonga, Perforadora Central 375-ft unit Coatzacoalcos, and Operadora Cicsa 400-ft unit Independencia 1. All four jackups are owned and managed by Mexican drilling contractors. In the letter, a Pemex official said that there if there "is no financial, administrative, regulatory or contractual impediment" then steps should be taken. However, one of the drilling contractors involved has indicated that they do not believe the suspension for their unit will go ahead. Sources in the Mexican market have also indicated that Pemex is still awaiting feedback on possible suspensions for jackups involved in exploration drilling. Drilling contractors in Mexico have for some time reported issues with receiving payments from Pemex. Opex, a drilling contractor that is an alliance between Mexican company CME Mexico and international jackup rig company Borr Drilling, stated in a letter dated 15 October 2024 that it has been in discussions with Pemex and financial institutions over the past six months regarding the reduction of overdue balances from the state company. A solution has not been reached and Opex stated that it is unable to continue with this financing situation, and would be implementing a temporary adjustment in its operations with Pemex. Opex stated that these adjustments do not imply a total suspension of activities but a controlled reduction that would allow the company to maintain safe and efficient operations. This measure is being coordinated with Pemex, with a priority to continue operating in support of national oil and gas production. Opex manages the CME-owned 300-ft jackups CME I and CME II and the Borr Drilling-owned 400-ft jackups Galar, Gersemi, Grid, Njord, and the 350-ft Odin. All have been working for Pemex with contracts that were expected to continue through 2025.

Saipem stated that it has mitigated the impact of Saudi Aramco’s contract suspension of three Saipem-managed jackups. The suspension of Perro Negro 7 has been postponed until next year, while managed jackup Perro Negro 9 will be returned to its owner and Perro Negro 10 is expected to move out of the Middle East. The 375-ft Perro Negro 7 has had the beginning of its suspension of up to 12 months postponed until the first quarter of 2025, which will coincide with a planned maintenance period for the unit. Perro Negro 7, which is owned by Saipem, is expected to resume working for Saudi Aramco after the suspension and remain with Aramco into 2033. The 375-ft Perro Negro 9 began its suspension in the second quarter of 2024. This rig has been leased by Saipem and is owned by China Merchants Heavy Industries. This lease will expire during the fourth quarter of 2024 and the rig will be returned to its owner and is not expected to return to work with Aramco. The 375-ft, Saipem-owned Perro Negro 10 began its suspension in the second quarter of 2024 and is currently warm stacked in the Middle East. Saipem stated that it is close to securing work with another client for the rig which will likely see it redeployed to the Gulf of Mexico from April 2025 onwards. Perro Negro 10 may replace the leased 350-ft jackup Jindal Pioneer, which is currently managed by Saipem and under contract to Eni offshore Mexico. Jindal Pioneer is currently firm with Eni through the first quarter of 2025. Eni has options available for the unit into the latter half of 2025. Potentially, this work could be reassigned to Perro Negro 10 while Jindal Pioneer could be returned to its owner Jindal Drilling.

While Chevron has the Transocean 12,000-ft drillship Deepwater Conqueror under contract in the US GOM into April 2025, a portion of the contract has been assigned to another undisclosed operator in the region, beginning in the first quarter of 2025. Deepwater Conqueror has been working for Chevron under various contracts since late 2016. Earlier this month, the rig was awarded a 365-day contract with an undisclosed operator, starting in October 2025. Transocean put the backlog for this contract at $193 million including additional services with a dayrate of $530,000. The clean dayrate is understood to be lower.

Woodside has exercised a one-well option and a five-well option for Transocean 1,640-ft semisubmersible Transocean Endurance, both options at a dayrate of $390,000. Transocean Endurance is currently carrying out the Stybarrow plugging and abandonment campaign for Woodside offshore Western Australia. With its current contract and recently fixed options, Transocean Endurance is now firmly contracted to Woodside offshore Australia into August 2026. The rig will work at a dayrate of $380,000 until December 2025, then transition to the higher $390,000 dayrate until the end of the contract. Woodside has a further priced option available for the rig that could keep it working into October 2026.  

Equinor has exercised a three-well option for Transocean's 10,000-ft semisubmersible Transocean Spitsbergen offshore Norway at a dayrate of $483,000. The newly-exercised option is currently scheduled to run from December 2026 to May 2027. Equinor has Transocean Spitsbergen firmly under contract until January 2025. The rig will then undergo an out-of-service period from January to March 2025, then return to work for Equinor from March to December 2025. Equinor then has a priced option available from December 2025 to July 2026, then is firmly contracted again from July 2026 to May 2027. Equinor also has a further priced option available for Transocean Spitsbergen that if exercised would run from May to October 2027 at a dayrate of $483,000. Transocean Spitsbergen has recently been used for production drilling in the Norwegian Sea.

Drilling Activity and Discoveries

The Norwegian Environment Agency (Miljødirektoratet) has received an application from Vår Energi for permission under the Pollution Act to drill a production well 7122/7-B-3 AH from the bottom frame Goliat B in the Barents Sea with the 4,921-ft semisubmersible rig COSLProspector. The drilling operation is planned to start in January 2025 at the earliest, with a duration of 78 days. The type of oil in the reservoir is Kobbe oil, a very light type of oil. The COSLProspector has recently been granted an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from Norway’s safety regulator Havtil and started its two-year firm contract with Vår Energi. The operator has already secured consent to use the rig for the well 7122/9-2 in production licence 1131 and a permit for wells 7122/7-8 and 7122/8-3 S in production licence 229.

Shell has encountered ‘encouraging’ initial drilling indications at its high-impact Selene exploration well in the UK North Sea but the operator still needs to wait on further results from the logging and fluid sampling operations. The Selene well was spud in July 2024 with the 400-ft jackup Valaris 123 and well operations continue. According to an update from partner Deltic, the well reached its total target depth of 3540 metres on 17 October 2024 and encountered a 160-metre thick section of Leman Sandstone with gas present throughout. While initial observations are clearly encouraging, Deltic stated that the JV will need to wait on further results from the logging and fluid sampling operations before providing a comprehensive update. Deltic has a 25% working interest in the Selene licence which is located in the heart of the long-established Leman Sandstone gas play in the Southern North Sea. In a success case, the intention would be to proceed directly to field development planning as further appraisal drilling is not considered to be necessary to support a future development investment decision.

BW Energy has completed an eight-well production drilling campaign at the Dussafu licence offshore Gabon with Borr Drilling 400-ft jackup Norve and is now carrying out a workover programme, restoring production at three shut-in wells and replacing electrical submersible pumps (ESPs). After this, the rig will move on to drill the Bourfon prospect. BW Energy completed the DHBSM-2H well with a conventional ESP on Hibiscus South in July, then worked over the DHIBM-3H well in early August with a conventional ESP. The DHIBM-7H well on the northern flank of Hibiscus Main started production in early October with a conventional ESP. The ESP at DHBSM-1H failed in late September but was changed out to a conventional ESP and production restarted in mid-October. BW Energy expects the ESP replacement programme to be completed by the end of 2024, bringing gross production at Dussafu to a target of 40,000 b/d. Production from Dussafu averaged 27,465 b/d during the third quarter of 2024. The Norve is expected to remain with BW Energy into early 2025, with the drilling of the Bourdon prospect test well as the last operation under its current contract. Partner Panoro Energy stated that the Bourdon prospect has an estimated mid-case potential of 83 million barrels in place and 29 million barrels recoverable in the Gamba and Dentale formations.

Byron Energy has encountered hydrocarbons at the F5-ST well on South Marsh Island 71 in the US GOM. The well was drilled with Enterprise Offshore Drilling 250-ft jackup Enterprise 264. Due to drilling issues, a bypass well is to be drilled. The well was drilled to a measured depth of 7,297 ft on 15 October 2024. Hydrocarbons were intersected within the D5, I2 and I3 sand intervals. The well encountered a thin high-pressure water sand below the D5 sand and the drill string and bottom hole assembly became stuck above the D5 sand while pulling out of the hole. Byron decided to cut the drill pipe and cement the well back, then bypass the well to redrill the D5, I2 and I3 sands. Otto Energy, which has a 50% working interest in the well, stated that it would take around four days for the bypass well to reach its total depth, 14 days to complete the well, and another 7 days to bring the well into production.

Saipem expects its 12,000-ft semisubmersible Scarabeo 9 to continue working for Burullus Gas Company offshore Egypt into mid-2025. Burullus has options for the rig available that could keep it working until the end of 2025. Scarabeo 9 has been working for Burullus in Egyptian waters of the Mediterranean since March 2024. Burullus is a joint venture which operates the West Delta Deep Marine concession, in which Shell has a 50% interest. Shell has a 25% interest in the Burullus joint venture itself, in partnership with EGAS, EGPC, and Petronas.

Saipem has confirmed that the 12,000-ft drillship Santorini has been farmed out from Eni to Galp for a drilling campaign offshore Namibia and called Namibia “a strategic new market” for the company. Saipem said that Namibia had potential as a new market for the company in terms of exploration and future production activity. Santorini moved to Namibia in early October 2024 and will be used by Galp for an exploration and appraisal drilling campaign at the Mopane Complex. Saipem expects the rig to return to work with Eni by early 2025. The rig is firmly contracted to Eni until late in the fourth quarter of 2025, with further options available. Eni has the rig under contract for work worldwide and has previously used it for drilling in the US GOM, Egypt, and Cote D’Ivoire.

Transocean's 12,000-ft drillship Deepwater Invictus is expected to complete its current contract in November 2024, after which it will be out of service for contract preparations into April 2025, when it begins a new contract with bp. Deepwater Invictus recently secured two one-well contract extensions in the US GOM. Transocean has not disclosed the operator. However, Deepwater Invictus is known to have been working for Murphy Oil Corp. and recently spud the Sebastian #1 exploration well on Mississippi Canyon Block 387. Deepwater Invictus will be out of service for contract preparations from November 2024 to April 2025. The rig will then begin a 1,095-day contract with bp in the US GOM at a dayrate of $495,000. This contract was awarded in late July 2024.

Transocean's 1,640-ft harsh environment semisubmersible Transocean Enabler is expected to remain firm under its current contract with Equinor offshore Norway into June 2026. Transocean Enabler has been working under its current contract with Equinor since July 2024, with its previous contract with Equinor starting in July 2023. The Norwegian operator recently secured permission to use the rig for production drilling and well completion in the Barents Sea. Equinor also has eight priced options available for Transocean Enabler, beginning in June 2026 with dayrates of $438,000. If exercised, these options would keep the rig working into January 2027.

Demand

Deltic Energy intends to delay the beginning of planned work programmes on its recently awarded Blackadder licence P2672 in the UK North Sea to minimise near-term expenditure. The Blackadder licence was awarded to Deltic earlier this year as part of the UK’s 33rd  Offshore Licencing Round. The initial 3-year Phase A work programme commitments for the licence are focused on the reprocessing of legacy 3D seismic data to improve reservoir imaging and refine the structural model in order to further de-risk the Blackadder structure at nominal cost in preparation for farm-out and in anticipation of drilling an appraisal well in due course. In an update on Monday, Deltic stated that, given the positive read across from Selene to the Blackadder prospect, the company has been in receipt of farm-in interest in the licence from a number of companies. The company will look to capitalise on this third-party interest to materially reduce or eliminate its cost exposure to the forward work programme on this licence. To allow time for these discussions to mature, Deltic intends to defer the commencement of planned work programmes until at least mid-2025, minimising any near-term expenditure.

Deltic Energy’s Syros licence P2542, located in the Central North Sea, will likely expire at the end of November 2024 as the UK’s regulator does not intend to support the operator’s request for the extension of the licence. After completing the Phase A work programme, significantly de-risking the Syros prospect and making it 'drill ready', Deltic has been working to farm out its 100% working interest in the licence. The licence contains a modestly sized, low-risk exploration target in close proximity to established production infrastructure on the Montrose-Arbroath high. However, despite the technical work completed by the Deltic team, the ongoing political and fiscal uncertainty has prevented a number of parties that participated in the farm-out process from moving forward with a transaction and the farm-out discussions were suspended pending the UK’s tax review. Therefore, Deltic has requested a 12-month extension from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to Phase A of the licence (from 1 December 2024 to 1 December 2025) to allow a period of stability post the October budget in which the company could re-engage with those interested parties. However, the NSTA has indicated it is not minded to support the request and it is likely this licence will now expire on 30 November 2024.

Sunda Energy Plc has delayed the start of appraisal drilling at the Chuditch-2 well offshore Timor-Leste from Q1 2025 to Q2 2025. The company, formerly known as Baron Oil, had initially expected to begin drilling in early 2025. However, on Tuesday, Sunda announced that slippage in the schedule, resulting from overrunning drilling activities of other operators using the preferred jackup rig, has pushed the start date to Q2. Sunda also said that the global market for jackup drilling rigs has started to ease, with some downward pressure on pricing and more rigs expected to shortly become available. "Against this background, Sunda continues to seek to achieve the best deal for the procurement of the drilling rig. Significant progress has been made in the negotiations for Sunda's preferred drilling rig, with contract discussions having now reached an advanced stage. In addition, contracts are near complete for all key long lead drilling equipment items. Sunda remains focused on a drill date for the Chuditch-2 appraisal well at the earliest opportunity in 2025," Sunda Energy said. In preparation for the Chuditch-2 appraisal well, Sunda is planning to conduct an Environmental Baseline Survey, which is scheduled for Q4 2024, pending vessel availability. The well site is located 5.1 km (3.1 mi) from the original Chuditch-1 discovery well, in a water depth of 68 meters (223 ft), and 286 meters east-northeast of the initial location. Sunda and Pacific LNG Operations Pte Ltd have also continued to make progress since entering into an exclusivity agreement on 12 August 2024. The two companies are in talks over Pacific LNG’s investment, which is expected to be made via an equity issuance in a Sunda subsidiary, rather than at the Sunda Energy Plc level. The funds raised would be used for the appraisal drilling of the Chuditch field and the anticipated subsequent development of the Chuditch PSC project.

Oil India Limited (OIL) has extended the bid submission deadline for its jackup rig tender, initially launched in August 2024, and has also revised the technical specifications. The tender, issued in August, is for a jackup rig to operate in Indian waters in late 2025, with the original bid submission date set for 22 October 2024, now extended to 19 November 2024. The rig is intended for drilling, testing, and abandonment of an exploratory well in water depths of up to 80 metres (262 ft) in the KK-OSHP-2018/1 block, offshore Kerala. The contract involves one firm well with an approximate duration of 180 days, plus 30 additional days if well testing is conducted, for a total of 210 days. There is also an option for one additional well, with a duration of approximately 173 days, plus 30 days for testing if required, for a total of 203 days. Although the contract duration remains unchanged, there have been amendments to the technical requirements. The rig must now have a drilling depth capability of at least 6,500 metres, up from the previous 6,000 metres. The target depth has also been revised from 5,500 metres to a range of 6,200 to 6,500 metres. The likely start of drilling activities is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025, with an estimated start around October or November 2025.

Mobilisation/Rig Moves

Borr Drilling's 400-ft jackup Gerd has completed its yard stay in the UAE and is set to move to start its contract in Congo. The PPL Pacific Class 400-design rig docked at Crystal Offshore's Khalifa Port facility in September for activation work ahead of its contract with Eni in Congo. In a statement on Tuesday, Crystal Offshore announced the rig's departure from the Abu Dhabi yard. The company said that the activation programme included fabrication, repairs, and upgrade scopes. As previously reported, the jackup rig secured a 180-day firm contract with Eni in Congo, with an option to extend for a further 180 days. The contract is expected to start mid-November.

ADNOC Drilling's 375-ft jackup Nurai has resumed its contract with ADNOC following a recently completed yard stay. The GustoMSC CJ46 jackup had been undergoing major maintenance at Dubai Drydocks since late June 2024, before departing on 12 October to resume operations. It is understood that the contract resumed on 22 October 2024. The rig is on a long-term contract with ADNOC in the UAE, expected to keep it operational until late October 2037.

Rig Sales

Broker Offshore Solutions Limited is offering a 300-ft F&G Super M2 jackup, understood to be the Wan Zuan 3, for sale at a price guide of $70 million. The broker stated that the rig could be charter free in the South China Sea in April to May 2025. Wan Zuan 3 is currently owned by CIMC Offshore company Tianjin Kaisheng Offshore Equipment Leasing Company Limited and was built at Yantai CIMC Raffles and originally delivered in 2015. In April 2023, after spending some time in the yard, the rig moved to the South China Sea to carry out workover operations for CNOOC, under the management of COSL. Wan Zuan 3 is an independent leg jackup with a drilling depth of up to 30,000 ft. Esgian Rig Values currently values the rig at $53 to $62 million.

Vantage Drilling expects to complete the sale of the 12,000-ft drillship Tungsten Explorer to TotalEnergies/Vantage Drilling JV in 2025. TotalEnergies and Vantage Drilling stated in February 2024 that they would enter a joint venture which would acquire Vantage Drilling's drillship. Under the agreement, TotalEnergies will pay $198.75 million in cash for a 75% interest in the joint venture. Vantage stated at the time that its ownership stake of 25% was at $66.25 million, putting the total vessel sale consideration at $265 million. Upon the closure of sale and creation of the JV, the JV will enter into a 10-year management services agreement with Vantage Drilling for the worldwide marketing and operations management for the Tungsten Explorer. In an investor presentation this week, Vantage stated that conditions for the completion of the transaction included customary documentation and rig completing its current campaign in Congo. Vantage stated that the expected sale completion date was Q2/Q3 2025. Post-closing, Vantage will be paid an average management fee of $47,500 per day (around $17 million per year) for ten years, as well as JV distributions.

Other News

EnQuest and its partners have been awarded the DEWA Complex Cluster Small Field Asset (SFA) Production Sharing Contract (PSC). Petronas awarded the PSC through Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM). Under the terms of the PSC, EnQuest will operate the block with the largest participating interest of 42%, effective from 21 October 2024. Its partners are Petroleum Sarawak Exploration & Production Sdn Bhd (PSEP) and Longboat Energy (DEWA) Ltd, a Seascape Energy company The DEWA Complex Cluster SFA PSC comprises twelve discovered fields located approximately 50 kilometres off the coast of Sarawak, offshore Malaysia, in water depths of 40 to 50 metres. The block lies in a proven hydrocarbon area with undeveloped discoveries, which, according to EnQuest, provides potential for low-cost development opportunities to supply gas to the Sarawak gas system. Seascape Energy said separately that DEWA included D30, D30W, Danau, Daya, Daya North, D41, D41W, Dafnah West, Dana, Darma, West Acis and Spaoh discoveries. Gas was originally found in the area in 1982 but overlooked by previous partnerships which were focused on oil production, Seascape stated. The DEWA partnership is anticipated to initially focus on the D30, Danau, D41, D41W, Dana and Dafnah West discoveries which are estimated to contain circa 500 bcf GIIP (gross, ~83 mmboe). "These fields are broadly characterised as having clastic reservoirs with large gas columns and good hydrocarbon mobilities. There is a significant dataset including 35 well penetrations, well logs, multiple DSTs and MDTs as well as extensive 3D seismic coverage across the entire PSC area," Seascape Energy added. Given the shallow water depths and nearby infrastructure, the partnership is targeting a low-cost development plan utilising normally unmanned platform(s) with minimal processing which could support a potential production plateau of up to 100 mmscfd. During the initial two-year pre-development phase of the DEWA SFA PSC, the partners plan to complete a resource assessment of the fields and submit a Field Development and Abandonment Plan (FDAP) for the first cluster, which could hold up to 500 Bscf of gas in place.

Vår Energi has sanctioned its Balder Phase V project in the North Sea, including the planned drilling of six production wells to utilise the remaining subsea template well slots to capture gross 2P reserves of 33 mmboe. Drilling of these wells will begin in the first half of 2025 and first oil from the initial wells is expected towards the end of 2025. In addition, the Balder Phase VI project is being matured, to add new subsea facilities and wells, with planned investment decision in 2025. According to Vår, there remains significant additional resource upside in the area and further exploration drilling and tie-back development phases are being planned. The company currently has one semisub under contract, the 4,921-ft COSLProspector, which started operations in late September 2024. Another COSL semisub, the 2,460-ft COSLPioneer, is currently in a yard in Olen, Norway, where it is preparing to start operations for Vår early next year. Two other semisubs, the 3,900-ft Deepsea Yantai and the 7,874-ft West Phoenix, worked for the Norwegian operator earlier this year.

Singapore’s Seatrium announced on Tuesday that it had secured a contract for the refit of a COSL Protector Pte Ltd-owned jackup rig. While Seatrium did not specify which rig is involved, the COSL-owned jackup COSLSeeker arrived at one of its Singapore sites in late September. The 375-ft rig was transported to Singapore from Saudi Arabia following Saudi Aramco contract suspension, aboard the heavy-lift vessel Zhen Hua 33. The rig is currently at a Seatrium shipyard ahead of its expected relocation to Thailand, where it is scheduled to begin a new contract with PTTEP between mid-December 2024 and mid-January 2025. Esgian has contacted Seatrium to confirm whether the contract involves the COSLSeeker and for additional details on the scope of the work. Updates will follow as more information becomes available.

Brazilian regulatory agency Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis (ANP) has approved geological and economic studies of the Quartz, Calcedonia and Opala exploratory blocks in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin. These studies will be forwarded to Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) for evaluation regarding the possible inclusion of the blocks in future bidding rounds The MME is responsible for proposing to Brazil's National Energy Policy Council the definition of the blocks that may be the subject of production sharing bidding rounds and the parameters to be adopted. ANP stated that the total area of the proposed blocks is 3,900 sq km and classified the blocks as having “high potential” to support projects in the region.

Nigerian oil and gas company Seplat Energy said Wednesday it had received approval to acquire ExxonMobil’s shallow water affiliate in Nigeria. The approval was granted by Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Seplat in February 2022 agreed to buy Mobil Development Nigeria and Mobil Exploration Nigeria's equity ownership of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU), which holds a 40% stake in four oil mining licences, including more than 90 shallow-water and onshore platforms and 300 producing wells, for $1.28 billion. “The company will now work with all parties to bring the transaction to completion,” Seplat Energy said following the approval, without sharing the expected transaction close date.

Saipem has reported revenues of €233 million for its offshore drilling business in the third quarter of 2024, with adjusted EBITDA of €82 million. The company stated that its offshore drilling backlog as of 30 September 2024 was €1,564 million, of which €206 million was to be executed in the fourth quarter of 2024. Saipem reported €115 million in new contracts for offshore drilling in the third quarter of 2024, though the company stated that it had no significant new contracts to report for this business segment. Most Saipem managed rigs were fully active during the third quarter of this year, with the exception of idle time on the 12,000-ft semisubmersible Scarabeo 9 and the 300-ft jackup Perro Negro 12 and the 400-ft Perro Negro 13 for class reinstatement and contract preparation, and the stacking of the 375-ft jackups Perro Negro 9 and Perro Negro 10 following contract suspensions requested by Saudi Aramco.

Shelf Drilling and Shelf Drilling (North Sea) have announced that the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has issued the Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) for the 500-ft jackup Shelf Drilling Barsk. In June 2024, Havtil did not accept the AoC application for the jackup after non-conformities were identified in the application and compliance measurements. As a result, the rig’s contract with Equinor was delayed and Shelf Drilling filed a new AoC application to the regulator. The AoC was issued on 23 October 2024. It means that Shelf Drilling Barsk and relevant parts of Shelf Drilling's organisation and management systems are considered to be in compliance with relevant regulatory requirements for petroleum activities. With the AoC approval in place, operations with Equinor are now expected to begin in the coming weeks. The rig's firm contracts with the Norwegian operator will keep it busy through May 2026, with further options thereafter. Greg O’Brien, CEO, commented: “This marks a critical step in preparing the Shelf Drilling Barsk for its upcoming contract with Equinor. O’Brien added: “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.”

The European Union (EU) has announced that the STARFISH project, a part of the broader Stella Maris CCS initiative, has been awarded up to EUR 225 million in grant funding by the EU Innovation Fund. The Stella Maris project includes a Norwegian licence named Havstjerne, which was awarded in early 2023 to a group consisting of Wintershall Dea Norge (operator) and Altera Infrastructure through its subsidiary Stella Maris CCS. The licence is now operated by Harbour Energy, following its acquisition of Wintershall Dea in 2024. The licence is located in the North Sea, 135 kilometres southwest of Stavanger. It comes with a work programme which includes seismic reprocessing/conditioning and drilling a wildcat well and performing formation test within the first two years of the licence. According to Altera, the STARFISH (or Sequestration Technology And Reservoir: Floating Injection and Storage in Havstjerne) project, will provide a first-of-its-kind, large-scale solution for CO2 sequestration using shared, flexible offshore infrastructure.  It is intended to be developed via a system for transporting CO2 by ship to the Havstjerne licence. The project will feature a specially designed injection unit capable of directly receiving large volumes of liquid CO2 from transport vessels for secure and permanent storage. Phase 1 of the project is expected to enable the storage of 42.75 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent (CO2-eq) over the first 10 years. The funding is subject to the successful conclusion of the Grant Agreement Preparation process. The aim is to finalise this process by Q1 2025, following necessary checks and reviews.

Original article   l   KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Esgian