Shell to keep Maersk drillship busy in Mexico after current job is done

Offshore drilling contractor Maersk Drilling has secured a contract extension with Shell, a UK-headquartered energy giant, for a seventh-generation drillship, enabling it to carry out drilling services offshore Mexico once it completes its current assignment with this oil major.

The rig owner revealed on Thursday that Shell had exercised an option to extend the provisioning of the Maersk Voyager drillship for drilling services offshore Mexico. This drillship is currently mobilising for Shell’s drilling campaign offshore Suriname and the disclosed contract extension is expected to start in April 2023, in direct continuation of the rig’s current contract, with a firm duration of six months.

Maersk Drilling explains that the contract value of this extension is approximately $77 million, excluding integrated services expected to be provided and potential performance bonuses. The offshore drilling contractor also says that the options included in the contract have been amended, so that, it now contains options to add up to 18 months of additional drilling work.

Furthermore, Shell and Maersk Drilling have further agreed to implement the RigFlow solution, delivered by Maersk Drilling subsidiary Horizon56, for the drilling campaign offshore Mexico. This solution supports a strong operational performance by standardising and digitalising the core workflows involved in well construction, including real-time exchange of information between onshore planning units, offshore drilling teams, and service companies supporting the operations.

The 2014-built Maersk Voyager is a high-spec ultra-deepwater drillship, which has been under contract with Shell in São Tomé & Principe/Suriname from April 2022. The rig’s day rate is $295,000, according to Maersk Drilling’s fleet status report.