Offshore drillers Noble Corporation and Odfjell Drilling, together with energy services giant Halliburton, have extended their drilling and wells alliance agreements with operator Aker BP for a further five years.
The renewed framework agreement contains underlying commitments for the jackup rigs Noble Integrator and Noble Invincible and Odfjell Drilling’s semisub pair Deepsea Nordkapp contracted to the end of 2024 with an option to further extend the contract, and Deepsea Stavanger, joining the Aker BP rig fleet in 2025 for a five-year contract.
These rigs are planned to be deployed on the upcoming Aker BP field development projects with total investments of more than NOK 200bn in real terms, subject to governmental and license approvals. Underlying commitments to both rig alliances are five-year frame agreements with Halliburton for well construction and service activities.
The two rig alliances have delivered more than 100 wells, drilled over 450 km, carried out almost 80 completions and 35 plug and abandonment operations during the first alliance period. Under the extended deal, the alliance is expected to develop and use new technologies to automate and digitalise drilling operations, supporting the combined goals of improving safety, increasing efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of the wells drilled.