Another Maersk rig coming back from warm-stack for new job

Offshore rig owner Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract with Aker BP for the ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig Maersk Reacher, which will be reactivated for the job.

The contract is for the Maersk Reacher rig to assist with well intervention, stimulation, and accommodation at the Valhall field offshore Norway, Maersk Drilling said on Monday.

It is expected to start in July 2021 and has a firm duration of 270 days. The firm contract value is approximately $33.4 million.

The contract contains options to add up to 90 days of additional intervention work at the Valhall field.

Maersk Reacher is contracted under the terms of the frame agreement that Maersk Drilling and Aker BP entered into in 2017.

The rig is currently warm-stacked in Frederikshavn, Denmark after ending its previous contract offshore Norway in April 2020.

Maersk Drilling said that the rig will be reactivated with reduced drilling equipment and a specific focus on delivering the most efficient well intervention and stimulation set-up including a reduced crew level compared to standard drilling mode.

COO of Maersk Drilling, Morten Kelstrup, said: “We’re delighted to get this contract which will see Maersk Reacher return to Valhall where it was last in service as an accommodation rig.

“This new contract to assist with well intervention, stimulation and accommodation will not utilise the full drilling capabilities of the rig, but we’re confident that we can build on our experience with the Aker BP Jack-up Alliance and work to deliver increased efficiency also in this context”.

“This is a strong example of how our supplier ecosystem enables cross-alliances collaboration. We will play to the strengths of the Intervention & Stimulation Alliance and the Jack-up Alliance to jointly bring well interventions’ efficiency to the next level”, said Tommy Sigmundstad, SVP Drilling & Wells in Aker BP.

Maersk Reacher is a 350ft, Gusto-engineered MSC CJ50 high-efficiency jack-up rig which was delivered in 2009.

This is not the first rig that Maersk is reactivating from the warm-stack mode in recent months.

Namely, early in November 2020, Shell awarded a contract to the Maersk Viking drillship, which was warm-stacked in Johor, Malaysia.

Later that month, Maersk Drilling received a Conditional Letter of Award (CLOA) from Total for the supply of the Maersk Developer and Maersk Valiant rigs for operations offshore Suriname. At the time of the award, Maersk Valiant was warm-stacked in Aruba after finishing a campaign in Mexico earlier in 2020.

Furthermore, in January 2021, the rig owner was awarded a contract from Spirit Energy for the harsh-environment jack-up rig Maersk Resolve. At the time, the rig was warm-stacked in Esbjerg, Denmark.