Offshore drilling contractor Maersk Drilling and oil and gas company Petrogas E&P Netherlands have signed a five-well deal for the Maersk Resolute jack-up drilling rig.
The duo has agreed to an amendment of the previously signed contract for the supply of the Maersk Resolute, under which an option included in that contract will now be replaced by a new five-well drilling contract which will employ Maersk Resolute to drill three wells at the A15 field and two wells at the B10 field. Both fields are located offshore the Netherlands.
The drilling contract is expected to start in Q1 2024, in direct continuation of the rig’s previous work scope, with an estimated duration of 188 days.
The minimum contract value of the drilling contract is approximately USD 24.3 million, including an agreed fee for the use of the rig’s SCR system, and with provisions included to potentially increase the day rate depending on market conditions. The drilling contract further contains an additional one-well option.
"The drilling campaign will employ Maersk Resolute’s onboard high-efficiency Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system which uses ammonia injection to convert NOx into harmless water and nitrogen, expectedly reducing NOx emissions by up to 98%," Maersk Drilling said.
COO Morten Kelstrup of Maersk Drilling said:"We’re pleased to confirm that Maersk Resolute will continue on a drilling campaign after completing its current plugging and abandonment work scope. This contract is yet another testament to our excellent collaborative relationship with Petrogas, which includes a shared commitment to protecting the environment – something that has a particularly high priority in operations in the Dutch North Sea.
Maersk Resolute is a 350ft (106.68m), Gusto-engineered MSC CJ50 jack-up rig delivered in 2008. It is currently employed to plug and abandon a total of 31 wells in the Dutch sector of the North Sea in support of a rig-sharing agreement between TotalEnergies EP Nederland B.V. and Petrogas E&P Netherlands B.V.