Qatar Petroleum announced Wednesday it has awarded contracts for eight offshore jackup drilling rigs for the North Field Expansion Project.
Contracts for six of the rigs were awarded to Gulf Drilling International (GDI), while the contracts for the remaining two rigs were awarded to Northern Offshore Drilling Operations Limited, operating out of the US. The contracts are awarded for committed terms ranging from two to four years, with exercisable options to extend the drilling program durations if required.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President & CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said the drilling program is part of the company’s long term strategy to increase Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity from 77 MTPA to 110 MTPA, “which is progressing well and according to plan on all fronts.”
The scope includes the drilling and completion of 80 new wells from eight wellhead platform locations. Contract awards for jacket fabrication were already made earlier in April 2019.
The drilling rigs are planned to be mobilized and ready for drilling activities starting from January 2020.