Equinor awards more work to Maersk Drilling’s jack-up rig

Danish offshore driller Maersk Drilling has been awarded a new contract by Equinor for jack-up rig Maersk Intrepid. 

The driller said on Friday that Equinor has exercised two one-month options extending the current contract for the jack-up rig Maersk Intrepid by two months until June 2019.

Further, Maersk Drilling and Equinor have signed a new five-month contract for Maersk Intrepid, which will start in direct continuation of the current extended contract. The new contract adds an additional four options of two months each.

In a separate statement on Friday, Equinor said that the value of the fixed part of the new contract is assessed at $40 million.

The driller also said that the Maersk Intrepid will be utilized for both drilling and accommodation activities at the Martin Linge field, with possible re-deployment to other Equinor-operated fields at a later stage.

Maersk Intrepid initially had a contract for operational support for the Martin Linge licence until April 2019.

CCIO of Maersk Drilling, Morten Kelstrup, said: “We are proud to see Maersk Intrepid get the opportunity to continue on Martin Linge and contribute to the expected opening of production on the field in 2020. Equinor is a highly valued customer to Maersk Drilling, and it’s great to be able to continue our long-standing cooperation with this renewed commitment.”

Maersk Intrepid is an ultra-harsh environment XL Enhanced jack-up rig which was the world’s largest jack-up when it was launched in 2014. It has been deployed in Norwegian waters ever since, with a track record which in addition to Martin Linge includes work on the Sleipner and Hanz fields.