Equinor Hires Rig for Valemon Gas Wells
Norway's Equinor has awarded a contract to Noble Drilling for the drilling of three wells at the Valemon gas field starting next summer, it said on September 8.
The Noble Lloyd Noble jack-up rig is expected to take 230 days to complete the campaign, at a cost of $51mn in total day rate fees. There will be additional costs relating to integrated services such as managed pressure drilling, treatment of cuttings and wastewater as well as running casing and tubing, rig modifications, mobilisation and demobilisation.
Equinor operates Valemon with a 66.8% stake, while its partners Petoro and Shell have shares of 30% and 3.2% respectively. Production started at the field in 2015 and peaked at 2.85bn m3 of gas and 7,750 b/d of oil the following year. It has fallen steadily since then, coming to 1.55bn m3 and 3,100 b/d last year.
Valemon is a complex reservoir, characterised by fragmentation, high pressure and high temperatures. Its gas is transported via a pipeline to Heimdal, which serves as a hub for deliveries to European markets. Its condensate is piped to Kvitebjorn for stabilisation and from there to the Mongstad refinery near Bergen.
Equinor said it was happy with the work that Noble Lloyd Noble had undertaken at the Mariner field, a heavy oilfield off the UK which it brought on stream last year. It is the world's tallest jack-up, capable of standing on the seabed in waters 150 m deep under tough weather conditions.
Noble's contract includes an option for a fourth well at Valemon, and 11 more not included at the same licence. The company has also signed a master frame agreement with Equinor.