Shell prolongs Noble drillship’s stay in Malaysia
Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has secured a contract extension for one of its drillships with Sarawak Shell Berhad and Sabah Shell Petroleum Co (SSB/SSPC), subsidiaries of the oil major Shell, for operations offshore Malaysia.
According to Noble, Sarawak Shell Berhad and Sabah Shell Petroleum Corporation have exercised three one-well options for the seventh-generation Noble Viking (former Maersk Viking) drillship. Back in November 2020, Shell awarded a one-well contract to the drillship for operations in Brunei. Later that same month, a one-well contract extension was agreed for the rig with work expected to start in May 2021 in direct continuation of the rig’s previously agreed work scope.
Come April 2021, Shell decided to add to the rig’s backlog when it inked a new deal for four development wells and five additional one-well options for work offshore Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei Darussalam. When February 2022 rolled in, the oil major opted to execute two of these options, leaving three one-well options, which can be executed to further extend the rig’s work scope offshore Malaysia.
As these three one-well options have now been exercised, Noble explains that one of these options will be novated to PTTEP for the drilling of the Rotan NFE appraisal well off the coast of Sabah, which is expected to start in December 2023 with an estimated duration of 21 days.
In direct continuation of this well, the Noble Viking rig will begin the previously announced six-well drilling campaign with SSB/SSPC, followed by two additionally exercised one-well options adding an estimated 90 days to the drilling campaign at the Marjoram deepwater field off the coast of Sarawak. As a result, the drillship is expected to be occupied into 2Q 2025.
Furthermore, the rig owner underscores that the estimated total duration of this contract extension is 111 days while the total contract value is approximately $49 million, including fees for the use of managed pressure drilling (MPD) on certain wells but excluding integrated services.
The 2013-built Noble Viking drillship can accommodate 230 people. With a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 ft, it is capable of carrying out operations in water depths of 12,000 ft. Shell made a final investment decision (FID) in September 2022 to develop the Rosmari-Marjoram gas project, containing deepwater sour gas fields discovered in 2014.
These fields are situated 220 kilometres (km) off the coast of Bintulu, Sarawak, and will be powered by renewable energy, using solar power for the offshore platform. Upon completion, the platform will be installed in a water depth of 140 metres (m) within the SK318 area, off the coast of Bintulu, Sarawak.
Blake Denton, Noble’s SVP of Marketing & Contracts, commented: “We are excited to extend our great collaboration with these world-class operators in Malaysia on the Noble Viking, which was recently named Global Floater Rig of the Year by Shell, in recognition of the drillship’s outstanding performance on the Gumusut-Kakap project for SSB/SSPC.
“This summer, the Noble Tom Prosser will be joining the Noble Viking for contracts with Shell and PTTEP, and we expect that operating two high-spec rigs on long-term contracts in the country will enable us to unlock further efficiencies.”
Published: 12-07-2023
