Maersk Drilling bags new contract for Maersk Integrator rig from Aker BP

Danish drilling rig operator Maersk Drilling has bagged an additional one-well contract worth around $21.6 million from Aker BP for deploying its low-emission Maersk Integrator jack-up rig at the Ula field in Norwegian waters.

The Maersk Integrator rig will undertake the drilling of the Ula F – Producer 1 well under the contract, which has an estimated duration of 85 days. The work is expected to begin in April 2021.

The contract value excludes integrated services provided and a potential bonus based on the drilling performance.

The Maersk Integrator jack-up rig is contracted under the terms of the frame agreement that the two companies signed in 2017 as part of the Aker BP Jack-up Alliance which also features Halliburton.

By using a shared incentives model, the tripartite alliance is said to secure mutual commitment to collaborate and generate digital initiatives to cut down waste and provide value.

According to Maersk Drilling, contracts signed under the alliance are based on market-rate terms, however, they add the possibility of an upside for all parties, which is based on actual delivery and also performance.

Maersk Drilling bags new contract for Maersk Integrator rig from Aker BP. Photo courtesy of MAERSK DRILLING

Morten Kelstrup – COO of Maersk Drilling said: “We are pleased to add one more well to Maersk Integrator’s work scope for Aker BP in 2021. Our alliance with Aker BP and Halliburton is enabling new ways of working as one team across the value chain, and our close collaboration also allows greater flexibility in future well planning, so additional wells can be committed to as plans mature.

“We have achieved impressive efficiency gains in the alliance, and this also translates into a reduction of the CO2 emissions associated with drilling. The upgrades currently being performed on Maersk Integrator will improve our emissions profile even further.”

As per Maersk Drilling, its Maersk Integrator vessel is an ultra-harsh environment CJ70 XLE jack-up rig that can operate right through the year in the North Sea.