DRILLING & COMPLETION NEWS • DEPARTMENTS
Contract wins for Valaris
semi in US GOM, Mexico
Valaris has been awarded two one-well
contracts with subsidiaries of Murphy Oil
for the VALARIS DPS-5 semisubmersible.
The first contract is in the US Gulf of
Mexico and is expected to commence in
Q3 2022 with a minimum duration of 30
days. This contract has a one-well option
with an estimated duration of 90 days.
The second contract, offshore Mexico, will
commence in direct continuation of the
first contract and has an estimated dura-
tion of 60 days.
Graff-1 well finds oil
in deepwater Namibia
The National Petroleum Corp of
Namibia (NAMCOR), the Namibian state-
owned oil company, and its partners
– Shell Namibia Upstream and Qatar
Energy – have announced that the Graff-1
deepwater exploration well made a dis-
covery of light oil in both primary and
secondary targets.
The well was drilled in the Orange Basin ,
270 km from the town of Oranjemund.
Drilling operations commenced in early
December 2021 and were safely com-
pleted in early February 2022.
In the coming months, extensive labo-
ratory analyses will be performed to gain
a better understanding of the reservoir
quality and potential flow rates achiev-
able. NAMCOR said it anticipates further
exploration activity, including a second
exploration well, will be required to deter-
mine the size and recoverable potential of
the identified hydrocarbons.
Appraisal well delineates
Winterfell potential in GOM
Kosmos Energy announced it has fin-
ished drilling the Winterfell-2 appraisal
well on Block 943 in the Green Canyon
area of the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The
well was drilled to evaluate the adjacent
fault block to the northwest of the original
Winterfell discovery and was designed to
test two horizons that were oil bearing in
the Winterfell-1 well, with an exploration
tail into a deeper horizon. The well dis-
covered approximately 40 m of net oil pay
in the first and second horizons .
Equinor’s Kvitebjørn is among fi ve platforms for which KCA Deutag received
contract extensions to provide drilling operations, maintenance services and
engineering support. Photo courtesy of Equinor/Harald Pettersen.
KCA Deutag wins contract extensions in Europe,
10-year contract to provide 4 new rigs in Oman
KCA Deutag has been awarded a two-
year drilling contract extension on five
of Equinor’s fixed platforms operating
in the Norwegian North Sea: Osberg B,
Osberg South, Osberg East, Osberg C and
Kvitebjørn. The contract – worth $140
million – is for the provision of drilling
operations, maintenance services and
engineering support and will now run to
September 2024 .
KCA Deutag was originally awarded
the contract in October 2018 for a period
of four years, with an option to extend by
three further periods of two years each .
In separate news, KCA Deutag
announced it was receiving a 10-year
contract from Petroleum Development
Oman for the provision of drilling ser-
vices with four new highly automated
rigs that will be built in Oman .
The contract comes with options to
extend for a further two years and, with
those options included, has a total value
of around $550 million.
The rigs will be constructed by
International Drilling Technology Co
(IDTEC) in Oman. IDTEC, majority-owned
by the KCA Deutag Group, is the group’s
local rig manufacturing and servicing
company . The rigs will be the first of
their kind to be constructed in Oman,
marking a step change in the rig-build-
ing capabilities in the country.
KCA Deutag will invest approximately
$100 million to build the new rigs and
expects to commence operations in the
second half of 2023. Around 40% of this
value will be spent with Omani suppli-
ers, including local small and medium
enterprise companies.
The project has high in-country value ,
including the establishment of IDTEC
as an API-licensed manufacturer for rig
structures in Oman , and the training and
upskilling of Omani personnel during the
construction phase .
In addition to training its own employ-
ees in operating the rigs, KCA Deutag will
extend the opportunity to partake in the
training, knowledge transfer and rig con-
struction to personnel from other drilling
companies . Further, it will offer summer
internships to 16 undergraduates from
Omani universities to be involved in the
design, construction and commissioning
of the rigs. KCA Deutag will then offer
employment to at least four of these
undergraduates upon course completion.
The rig design and all key components
will be provided by KCA Deutag’s new
business unit, Kenera, through its Bentec
engineering and manufacturing center.
The rigs will be highly automated, fast-
moving units and will benefit from the
latest technologies from KCA Deutag’s
Well of Innovation.
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