TotalEnergies Takes Vantage Drillship For Work Off West Africa

One of the subsidiaries of offshore drilling company Vantage Drilling International has entered into a drilling services contract with a subsidiary of TotalEnergies in respect of its ultra-deepwater drillship – the Tungsten Explorer.

The contract is for a minimum duration of 225 days with three possible options for extension. The drillship is currently operating in the Mediterranean where it will be drilling up to two wells and from there it is planned to mobilize to West Africa in the third quarter of 2022 at the earliest.

According to the offshore driller, the total contract value over the firm term of the contract is approximately $79 million.

“We are delighted that the Tungsten Explorer will go back to work for TotalEnergies. This award reflects the confidence our esteemed client has in Vantage’s operational team and Vantage’s track record of delivering safe and reliable operations in West Africa. We look forward to performing up to their expectations, delivering a perfect day, every day,” Ihab Toma, Vantage Drilling Chief Executive Officer, said.

It is worth noting that TotalEnergies is part of a consortium for which the Tungsten Explorer drillship is now working in the Mediterranean. Eni and TotalEnergies as the consortium started drilling operations in Block 6 offshore Cyprus in May 2022.

The two partners previously made a gas discovery in Block 6 with Calypso, which encountered an extended gas column in rocks of Miocene and Cretaceous age. It turns out that the Calypso gas discovery confirmed the extension of a ‘Zohr-like’ play in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone.

As for other Vantage-related news, the company completed the sale of the Emerald Driller, the Sapphire Driller, and the Aquamarine Driller jack-up rigs to ADES. A subsidiary of Vantage will, in exchange for customary fees and reimbursements, provide support services to EDC in respect of the three rigs operating in Qatar for three years.

Also, an Aquadrill drillship managed by Vantage was awarded a nine-month contract for operations in India with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com