Aker BP cleared to use ‘Maersk Invincible’ on Valhall during 2018 and 2019

Oil company Aker BP has received consent from the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use the Maersk Invincible rig on the Valhall Flank North (VFN) and Valhall Flank South (VFS) fields.

The PSA said on Thursday that it gave consent to Aker BP to use the Maersk Invincible drilling rig on the Valhall Flank North (VFN) and Valhall Flank South (VFS) fields.

The consent applies to the use of Maersk Invincible for production drilling, well operations, and as a flotel at VFN and VFS during 2018 and 2019.

According to the offshore safety regulator, the drilling operations will begin in October 2018.

The Maersk Invincible is an XL Enhanced ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig. It was delivered by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea in January 2017. The rig arrived in Stavanger, Norway, in late March 2017.

Maersk Invincible received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in April 2017.

The rig has an $812 million five-year firm contract with Aker BP for plug and abandonment work on the Valhall field in the Norwegian North Sea. The contract could last as long as ten years since Aker BP has five one-year extension options as well.

As for the field, Valhall is a giant oilfield in the southern Norwegian North Sea. Production started in 1982 and following the commissioning of the new PH platform in 2013 the field now has the potential to continue producing for several decades.

The Valhall Flank developments are two identical unmanned wellhead platforms each equipped with 16 drilling slots and located about six kilometers from the existing Valhall facilities where the well streams are processed.

The South Flank started production in 2003, and the North Flank came on stream in 2004.