John Fredriksen’s Seadrill has secured a contract with Equinor for the utilisation of the 2014-built West Saturn drillship on the Bacalhau field in Brazil.
Total value for the firm four-year contract, which comes with four one-year options, should be around $380m.
The total contract value is contingent on the final investment decision by the partnership for Bacalhau, with commencement expected in Q1 2022.
For the purpose of the project, Seadrill said it plans to further upgrade the West Saturn for better safety, efficiency, and environmental control.
Drillship’s fuel consumption is expected to be reduced by between 10-15% with the introduction of a combined hydrogen and methanol injection system along with other energy efficiency upgrades. Emissions of CO2 are expected to reduce by between 10-15%, and NOx by between 30-80%.
“The West Saturn‘s planned upgrades are a key development in Seadrill’s innovation pipeline, as the adoption of new technologies will improve drilling efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint of Seadrill and our clients,” said Seadrill’s CEO, Stuart Jackson.
Bacalhau field was discovered by Petrobras in 2012. Equinor has been the operator since 2016. Bacalhau will be the first greenfield development in the pre-salt by an international operator.
First oil production is planned in 2024.
