Diamond Offshore rig embarks on its first North Sea gig with Repsol

U.S.-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Diamond Offshore Drilling has tucked a new milestone under its belt, after starting its first assignment with Repsol in the UK sector of the North Sea. The work is being carried out with one of the rig owner’s semi-submersible units.

A few months ago, the offshore drilling giant confirmed a two-well contract with Repsol for the Ocean Patriot semi-submersible rig in the UK North Sea. With an estimated duration of 60 days, the deal was slated to begin in September 2023.

While revealing that the rig’s two-well P&A campaign with Repsol is underway, Diamond Offshore describes the start of drilling operations as “an important milestone.” The U.S. player further elaborates that this represents the first time it has worked with Repsol in the North Sea.

“A big thanks to Repsol for trusting Diamond to execute this program. Our crews on the Ocean Patriot are excited to continue delivering successful outcomes to our clients in the UK North Sea,” added the drilling giant.

The rig concluded its campaign with Apache in the UK in early July 2023. The 1983-built Ocean Patriot rig is of Bingo 3000 design. This rig can operate in a water depth of up to 3,000 ft and its maximum drilling depth is 20,000 ft.

Encouraged by new contracts and extensions for its rig fleet in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the UK, and Senegal during 2Q 2023, Diamond Offshore is expecting a further boost in day rates and fleet utilization in the foreseeable future. 

One of the rig owner’s semi-submersible rigs embarked on the first drilling assignments on its list in Australia a few weeks ago, following the completion of a special periodic survey (SPS) in Singapore.