Equinor hires Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and Schlumberger for drilling work on Bacalhau field

Norwegian oil firm Equinor has awarded Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and Schlumberger contracts for drilling and well services on the Bacalhau field offshore Brazil.

Equinor said on Tuesday that the deals were awarded on behalf of partners ExxonMobil and Petrogal Brasil. The total value of the three contracts is estimated at $455 million. The contracts have a firm period of four years and two two-year options.

Peggy Krantz-Underland, Equinor’s chief procurement officer, stated: “The awards build further on our positive cooperation experience with the three selected suppliers in our projects worldwide. They will be essential to ensure safe and efficient drilling and well operations on the Bacalhau field”.

The contract scope awarded to Baker Hughes covers drilling services and completion. Halliburton’s scope of work will include intervention services and liner hanger, while Schlumberger will deliver wireline services.

According to Equinor, the awards are expected to make a significant contribution to local content in Brazil. The average local content of the three contracts, considering the majority of services will be performed in Brazil, is estimated at 74 per cent.

Trond Bokn, acting SVP for project development in Equinor, added: “Brazil is a core area for Equinor, and Bacalhau is an important asset in the Brazilian pre-salt Santos area. Together with our partners, we are currently maturing the project towards a final investment decision (FID) which is planned in 2021”.

Earlier this year, the partnership entered into front end engineering and design (FEED) contracts with early commitments and pre-investments for the Bacalhau field with MODEC for FPSO and Subsea Integration Alliance (SIA) for SURF.

The awards have an option for the execution phase under a lump-sum turnkey contract setup which includes engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) for the entire SURF and FPSO scopes.

As for the partners in the Bacalhau field, Equinor is the operator with a 40 per cent stake while ExxonMobil and Petrogal hold 40 and 20 per cent each. Pré-sal Petróleo, a non-investor Government agency, is also a partner in the field.