Island Drilling Company AS has been awarded a three-year contract for well plugging on Equinor-operated fields on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) using the Island Innovator semi-submersible rig. In addition, the oil service companies Archer Oiltools and Baker Hughes Norge have won framework agreements for plugging services.

Island Innovator is a mobile rig specially designed for well plugging. The Norwegian rig company will now be on assignment for Equinor for several years, start-up scheduled for early 2026.

The contract, worth an estimated near USD 330 million, also carries five one-year options. The scope of work under the contract includes mobilisation, planned upgrading and certain integrated drilling services.

“We will drill 600 improved oil recovery wells and about 250 exploration wells to maintain our production on the NCS towards 2035. At the same time, many wells will be permanently securely plugged. This rig provides us with a tool specially designed for plugging operations. The initial plan is a three-year work programme, but we do not rule out utilising the rig for operations also in the longer term,” says Erik G. Kirkemo, Equinor’s senior vice president for drilling & well.

According to the plan Island Innovator will permanently plug 15 to 20 wells annually for a total of nine licences. These wells will no longer be used for oil or gas production. The rig will plug subsea wells at Heidrun, Snorre and Norne, among others.

In addition to the Island Innovator contract Equinor has awarded framework agreements to the oil service companies Archer Oiltools and Baker Hughes Norge for full-range delivery of plugging services with a duration of three years, with two two-year options.

Total work related to integrated plugging services over the next seven years is estimated at a combined value of about NOK 3.5 billion. Archer Oiltools has also been assigned responsibility for planning plugging operations for 26 wells to be plugged from Island Innovator, in addition to options to perform the work.

“Through these contracts the suppliers are involved at an early stage and get a greater responsibility for planning the plugging operations, closely monitored by Equinor, who has the overall responsibility. We facilitate the industrialisation of safe and efficient plugging operations, ensuring continuous improvements together. This is about ensuring quality and reducing costs for work that will gradually increase on the NCS in the future,” says Mette H. Ottøy, Equinor’s chief procurement officer.

About Equinor

Equinor is an international energy company committed to long-term value creation in a low-carbon future.
Our purpose is to turn natural resources into energy for people and progress for society. Equinor’s portfolio of projects encompasses oil and gas, renewables and low-carbon solutions, with an ambition of becoming a net-zero energy company by 2050. Headquartered in Stavanger (Norway), Equinor is the leading operator on the Norwegian continental shelf. We are present in around 30 countries worldwide.

About Island Drilling

Island Drilling was established in 2006 by industry veterans and Island Offshore, the leading global player in well intervention, to build and own special purpose semi-submersible rigs for heavy well intervention operations, including coil tubing operations, through tubing rotary drilling (TTRD).
It was meant to complement the fleet of light well intervention vessels. The design was however expanded to encompass full drilling capability in Harsh Environment service.

The company took delivery of the rig from China’s Cosco Zhoushan Shipyard in 2012. After successfully drilling wells since 2013, the vessel has proved its ability to operate in harsh environment covering the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea.