Maersk Drilling scores drillship contract extension in Malaysia

Maersk Drilling has secured a contract extension from Shell for the 2013-built drillship Maersk Viking offshore Malaysia.

Shell has executed two options on the previously announced contract, under which the first will be novated to TotalEnergies Malaysia for the drilling of one deepwater well at the Tepat project, while the second option will be novated to Petronas, for the drilling of one deepwater well at the Layang-Layang project. Both projects are located off the coast of Sabah.

The extensions have a total estimated duration of 120 days and should commence in July 2022, in direct continuation of the rig’s prior work scope with Shell.

The total contract value of the extensions is around $32m, including fees for the use of managed pressure drilling. Shell Malaysia has three one-well options remaining on the contract.