Statoil, Partners Award $1.6B in Rig Contracts

Statoil reported Wednesday that it and its partners have agreed to $1.6 billion in contracts for the use of the Bideford Dolphin (MW semisub), Stena Don (MW semisub) and Scarabeo 5 (DW semisub) rigs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

Statoil said the rigs would be used for production drilling for several fast-track developments as well drilling and completion on the Norwegian shelf.

"Securing three rigs in the current market represents a real achievement for the Norwegian shelf. The rig capacity we have secured in these contracts will contribute to achieving our production targets towards 2020, through production drilling on several of our legacy assets and starting production from fast-track developments," said Øystein Michelsen, head of development and production in Norway for Statoil, in a statement.

The Bideford Dolphin rig, owned by Dolphin Drilling, will be used for production drilling on the Tordis and Vigdis fields, as well as the Statfjord field in the North Sea, with its contract running from 2014 to 2017. The Stena Don rig, owned by Stena Drilling, will be on contract for three years from 2013 and will be used for production drilling on the Troll field, as well as the fast-track development of Fram H-Nord in the North Sea.

In a separate announcement, offshore drilling specialist Saipem reported that Statoil awarded it a $550 million three-year contact that extends the charter of its Scarabeo 5 drilling rig for operations in the Norwegian zone of the North Sea. The contract, due to begin in the third quarter of 2014, will be used for drilling and completion on a number of NCS fields.

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

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