Stena rig becomes first drillship to don DNV’s notation for emission reduction

Offshore drilling contractor Stena Drilling has welcomed the award of DNV’s Abate (P) notation, which now adorns one of its drillships after the rig owner put in place several technical and operational measures for the rig to slash the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

While COP28 runs in the background, more and more announcements keep coming in, which show without a doubt that the oil and gas industry has acknowledged the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. As a result, the oil and gas companies and owners of offshore units are setting net zero goals.

Bearing this in mind, Stena Drilling collaborated with DNV to develop a class rule for greenhouse gas abatement reflecting industry best practices for emission reduction to assist in the industry’s drive towards energy transition. The Abate notation is perceived to be one step on this journey and provides recognition to units meeting these goals.

According to Stena Drilling, the Stena DrillMAX rig has become the first drillship to be awarded DNV’s Abate (P) notation. The rig owner sees this as a natural progression after it received ISO50001 energy management system certification. The notation comes after the offshore drilling player implemented an energy management system across its fleet.

Torgeir Sterri, Director of Offshore Class, DNV, commented: “We are delighted to award Stena Drilling with our Abate(P) notation. This Abate(P) class notation was introduced to support the offshore industry’s efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and aligning with the targets of the Paris Agreement. By verifying compliance with the Abate requirements DNV states that the drilling unit complies with current best industry practice for greenhouse gas abatement.”

Furthermore, DNV’s Abate(P) class notation represents ambitious emission reduction targets and a comprehensive energy and emission management system aligned with ISO 50001 standards. This notation emphasizes rigorous monitoring of energy consumption and the implementation of both operational and technical measures to notably curb emissions.

Erik Rønsberg, CEO of Stena Drilling, remarked: “Following on from the success of achieving ISO50001 for all our vessels and headquarters, I am delighted that we have played a part in not only developing but achieving this outstanding notation.”

The 2008-built Stena DrillMAX is the first of the DrillMAX series vessels and is a harsh environment dynamically positioned DP Class 3 drillship capable of drilling in water depths up to 10,000 ft. With a maximum drilling depth of 35,000 ft, the drillship can accommodate 180 people.

The award of this notation comes after one of Transocean’s semi-submersible rigs became the first semi-submersible to sport DNV’s Abate (Power+) notation, in the wake of upgrades to cut the rig’s greenhouse gas emission footprint during operations.