Danish and UK drilling specialists have been awarded new contracts and extensions covering drilling and well intervention in South America and the Asia-Pacific as well as closer to home. Meanwhile, offshore wind operators in the US and Europe have hired an assortment of vessels – including a high-capacity jackup currently under construction – for installation and maintenance support.
Maersk Drilling rig trio secure drilling, intervention work
Total E&P Suriname, Suriname Branch has exercised an option to add the drilling of one additional appraisal well in Suriname's Block 58 to the work scope of Maersk Drilling's semi-submersible rig Mærsk Developer.
The contract extension has an estimated duration of 100 days, with work haveing already commenced in late May 2021 in direct continuation of the rig's previously agreed work scope. The contract value of the extension is approximately US$20 million, including integrated services provided.
Maersk Drilling has also secured a contract from INEOS Oil and Gas UK to employ the harsh-environment jackup rig Maersk Resolve for drilling and hydraulic stimulation at the Breagh Alpha A11 well in block 42/13 of the UK North Sea. The contract will commence in Q3 2021, in direct continuation of the rig's current work scope, with an estimated duration of 140 days.
The contract has a value of approximately US$11.3 million and includes four additional one-well options.
Lastly, Equinor Energy has exercised an option to add well intervention work at the Martin Linge field offshore Norway to the previously agreed work scope for the ultra-harsh environment jackup rig Maersk Intrepid.
The well intervention scope has an estimated duration of 29 days. The firm value of the contract extension is approximately US$9.9 million, including integrated services but excluding potential performance bonuses.
The contract extension is entered under the Master Framework Agreement between Equinor and Maersk Drilling.
Seadrill Partners awarded four-well contract offshore Malaysia
UK-based Seadrill Partners has secured a four-well contract plus an option for up to seven additional wells for the drillship West Capella in Malaysia.
The total contract value for the firm portion of the contract is approximately US$43 million. The work commenced in May 2021 and will run to November 2021.
Island Offshore to provide walk-to-work vessel support for Vattenfall's Germany operations
Norway's Island Offshore has secured a contract for the deployment of the walk-to-work vessel Island Diligence at the DanTysk Sandbank offshore wind farms operated jointly by Vattenfall and Germany's Stadtwerke München.
In late May 2021, the vessel began providing accommodation and transfer of technicians to the wind farms, which are located within the German exclusive economic zone outside Esbjerg.
The contract is a four-months firm agreement plus options.
Dominion Energy, Ørsted, Eversource to charter turbine installation vessel
Ørsted and Eversource have entered into an agreement to charter Dominion Energy's wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) Charybdis for the construction of two offshore wind farms in waters off the northeastern US.
The vessel, which will be operational by 2023, will first be deployed out of New London, Connecticut, to support the construction of Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, both under joint development by Ørsted and Eversource, to serve nearly one million homes in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. Once complete, the two projects will generate more than 1.6 GW of clean, renewable energy.
The charter's terms will allow the vessel, subject to state regulatory approval, to support construction of Dominion Energy's 2.6GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project off the coast of Virginia Beach, which has a scheduled completion date of 2026.
Charybdis is still under construction in Brownsville, Texas.
Seacat Services crewboat lands work at Greater Gabbard wind farm
Seacat Services has been awarded a long-term charter for the provision of one its catamaran crewboats to support operations at the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm in UK waters.
Seacat Magic will join sister vessel Seacat Freedom, which has been providing operations and maintenance support at the wind farm since 2017.
The 504MW wind farm is jointly owned by RWE Renewables of Germany and UK/Irish-owned SSE Renewables.
