Maersk Drilling firms up Suriname contracts with Total

Offshore drilling contractor Maersk Drilling has firmed up contracts with Total for two floater rigs to be used for drilling operations in Suriname.

Based on the previously announced conditional letter of award, Maersk Drilling has been awarded contracts for the deepwater rigs Maersk Valiant and Maersk Developer from Total E&P Suriname for Total’s exploration and appraisal project in Suriname’s Block 58.

The conditional letter of award was announced in November 2020.

In an update on Monday, the rig owner said that Maersk Developer and Maersk Valiant will be employed for an estimated combined total duration of 500 days.

Maersk Developer is expected to start operations in January 2021, while Maersk Valiant is expected to begin operations in March 2021.

The total value of the firm contracts is approximately $100 million, including rig modifications, integrated services provided, and a mobilisation fee for Maersk Valiant. The contracts include various extension options.

Total and its partner Apache have recently made the fourth discovery in Block 58 located offshore Suriname.

The Keskesi East-1 oil and gas discovery follows previous discoveries at Maka Central, Sapakara West, and Kwaskwasi announced in January, April, and July 2020, respectively.

Morten Kelstrup, COO of Maersk Drilling, said: “We’re happy to add to our presence in the exciting Suriname-Guyana basin and will be able to leverage the fact that Mærsk Developer is already operating offshore Suriname to quickly start-up operations including provision of a range of integrated services to maximise efficiency”.

Mærsk Developer is a DSS-21 column-stabilised dynamically positioned semi-submersible rig, able to operate in water depths up to 10,000 ft. It was delivered in 2009 and is currently mobilising for the Total campaign after recently completing a contract offshore Suriname.

Maersk Valiant is a high-specification 7th generation drillship with integrated Managed Pressure Drilling capability which was delivered in 2013. It is currently warm-stacked in Aruba after finishing a campaign offshore Mexico in June 2020.