Maersk Hired for UK's Columbus Gas Project

Denmark’s Maersk Drilling has bagged an $8mn contract to sink a development well at London-listed Serica Energy’s Columbus gas field in the central UK North Sea, it said on October 31.

The contract will start in the fourth quarter and run for 70 days. Maersk is yet to assign a harsh environment jack-up rig to drill the well.

Serica owns a 50% stake in Columbus while partners Tailwind Energy and Waldorf Production each have 25%. The project involves a single well connected to Shell’s nearby Shearwater platform. Production should start in the second quarter of 2021 and ramp up to a peak of 7,800 barrels of oil equivalent/day.