Page 15 - Euroil Week 18 2020

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil
Maersk Drilling wins $100mn rig deal from Equinor
DENMARK
Many rig owners are struggling with early contract terminations.
DENMARK’S Maersk Drilling has won a wel- come $100mn contract extension from Norway’s Equinor for the continued use of the Maersk Intrepid jack-up rig.
The extension begins in September and runs for 339 days, the companies reported on April 30. It will see the Intrepid sink three more gas wells at Equinor’s Martin Linge field, under development in the Norwegian Sea.
The pair have also reached an agreement on the provision of integrated services for the cam- paign, including managed pressure drilling, slot treatment, cuttings handling and tubular run- ning services. The contract is worth $100mn, taking into account rig modifications and upgrades but excluding the integrated services and potential performance bonuses.
The extension includes options for an extra well and 120 more days of well intervention.
The Intrepid has been working in the North Sea since 2014 and is designed for year-round operations in an ultra-harsh environment. As part of the previously agreed scope of work with Equinor, the rig is due to be upgraded to reduce
its emissions and operate more efficiently.
The Martin Linge field is slated for launch in the third quarter, some four year later than orig- inally planned, partly because of delays at the Korean shipyard where its fixed production plat- form was built. The project’s cost has also inflated to NOK56.1bn ($6.2bn), from an original budget
of just NOK29.6bn.
Under the original development plans filed in
2012, Martin Linge will flow at a plateau rate of 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). Equinor has a 70% stake in the field, while fellow state producer Petoro owns 30%.
Maersk Drilling secured the contract exten- sion as part of a new master-framework agree- ment it has signed with Equinor, aimed at increasing their long-term collaboration. The deal is a boon for the Danish driller, which like many rig owners is struggling with early contract terminations and limited new business following the oil price collapse.
The firm announced recently it was preparing to mothball several North Sea rigs and make up to 300 workers redundant. ™
FID delayed at Platypus gas field
UK
The sanction decision had been due in the second quarter.
ABERDEEN-BASED Dana Petroleum has delayed taking a final investment decision (FID) at the Platypus gas project in the southern North Sea, citing bearish market conditions.
Dana, wholly owned by Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), had aimed to reach an FID at Platypus in the second quarter, but this time- frame is now “under review,” the firm said in a statement to the UK Oil & Gas Authority (OGA).
“We are assessing the impact of COVID-19 and the general industry economic situation,” it said.“Afurtherupdatewillbepublishedoncewe have a clear picture of how we intend to move forward.”
Dana filed development plans for Platypus with the OGA in October. It intends to drill two wells more than 3,100 metres deep that will be tied back to the nearby Perenco-operated Clee- ton platform via a 23-km pipeline. First gas was expected in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The project is targeting up to 105bn cubic feet
(3bn cubic metres) of gas, according to Dana’s partner, Parkmead Group. Output is anticipated to reach a plateau rate of around 486mn cubic metres per year.
Further resources could be recovered, with a second phase targeting the nearby Platypus East site, formerly known as Possum, Parkmead has said.
Dana has a 59% stake in the development, while Parkmead has 15%. Their partners are Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary CalEnergy, with 15%, and the UK’s Zennor Petroleum, with 11%.
Several North Sea projects have been put on hold since oil prices collapsed in March. Nor- way’s Rystad Energy warned last month that at $30 per barrel oil, only 34% of unsanctioned dis- coveries in the UK are commercial, while at $20 per barrel, none are financially viable. The June contract for Brent is currently trading at around $29 per barrel, after plunging under $20 several weeks ago. ™
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