Offshore drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. said Wednesday that six one-well options had been exercised for the Transocean Encourage semi-submersible drilling rig in Norway.
While Transocean did not specify who the client was, the harsh-environment drilling unit has been working with Equinor for years and recently secured a nine-well contract with the Norwegian oil giant until February 2025.
Under the freshly exercised six one-well option, the work is expected to start in direct continuation of the current firm term and now extends through February 2026.
The estimated 370 days of work will contribute approximately $172 million in backlog, Transocean said.
The 2016-built Cat D offshore drilling unit is a 6th generation fully winterized, harsh environment semisubmersible rig with automated drilling control specially designed for operations on the Norwegian continental shelf.
According to available information, the Transocean Encourage is currently located in the Norwegian Sea and was most recently located in the Asgard field area.
The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority in March gave Equinor permission to use the Transocean Encourage for production drilling on the Åsgard field.
The consent was for the drilling and completing production well 6506/12-P-3 BH (Blåbjørn) on the Åsgard field.