Offshore rig owner Maersk Drilling and oil company Aker BP have agreed to a rig swap for an extended scope of work offshore Norway, adding a work scope worth about $29 million.
Maersk Drilling reported on Monday it has entered into a rig swap agreement with Aker BP whereby the jack-up rig Maersk Reacher is to be replaced by the low-emission jack-up rig Maersk Integrator offshore Norway in end-February/early March 2022.
Maersk Integrator will be prepared for well intervention and stimulation activities at Aker BP’s Valhall and Hod fields. The previously announced work scope for the Maersk Reacher will accordingly be transferred on to the Maersk Integrator with an added scope estimated to eight months, which means that Maersk Integrator will be employed until January 2023.
This contract swap arrangement will add approximately $29 million to Maersk Drilling’s revenue backlog.
It is worth reminding that Maersk Drilling and Aker BP in December 2021 entered into a Heads of Agreement to renew and extend the frame agreement that establishes Maersk Drilling as the jack-up rig drilling partner. The estimated value of this deal is around $1 billion.
Maersk Drilling COO, Morten Kelstrup , said: “We’re delighted to confirm this contract following the news in December 2021 about our agreement to renew the frame agreement with Aker BP. Maersk Integrator will be employed to assist with the continued development of the Valhall and Hod fields, building on the excellent groundwork laid by the Maersk Reacher team in our collaboration with Aker BP.”
Maersk Integrator is an ultra-harsh environment CJ70 XLE jack-up rig, designed for year-round operations in the North Sea and featuring hybrid, low-emission upgrades. It was delivered in 2015 and is currently warm-stacked in Åmøyfjorden outside Stavanger, Norway after completing a drilling campaign for Aker BP in November 2021.
Maersk Drilling is currently in the process of merging with rival Noble Corporation and the two have recently received approval from a competition authority in Norway, allowing them to move forward with the plan.