Wintershall, Germany’s largest internationally active oil and gas producer, has awarded of a major rig contract for the Maria Field to http://www.euro-petrole.com/odfjell-drilling-er-3529-sc-11Odfjell Drilling. The contract for the Deepsea Stavanger semi-submersible rig is worth approximately USD 175 million (NOK 1.5 billion) based on 574 budgeted days. It has been assigned following a thorough international selection process and in alignment with the other Maria license partners.

Under the terms of the contract, the Deepsea Stavanger unit will drill six wells on the Maria Field starting from April 2017. In addition, the contract has options for additional wells. The award is the latest contract in the execution of the Maria development, further strengthening Wintershall’s position as a key operator in the subsea arena.

“In a difficult market environment, Wintershall is pushing ahead with our first operated development in Norway. Maria is a major subsea development on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and this is only the second major rig contract signed in 2015. With the procurement of the Deepsea Stavanger we demonstrating that we are still prepared to invest in this core region even in a difficult oil price environment,” said Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Maria Project Director.

Efficient drilling

Wintershall will cooperate closely with Odfjell to drill and complete three production wells in each of Maria’s two subsea templates located at a depth of around 300 metres on the Halten Terrace in the Norwegian Sea.

Delivered in 2010, the Deepsea Stavanger is a dual-derrick, sixth-generation deepwater semi-submersible and is considered to be a highly efficient drilling rig for the planned operations on Maria.

“Wintershall and Odfjell will work closely together to ensure safe and efficient drilling and completion activities for the Maria development. We have secured a very efficient rig on highly competitive terms that will help us to maximise value from the Maria field,” said Dijkgraaf.

About Maria

Under the proposed development solution, Maria’s two templates will be linked via a subsea tieback to the Kristin, Heidrun and Åsgard B production platforms. The Maria well stream will go to the Kristin platform for processing while supply of water for injection into the reservoir will come from the Heidrun platform and lift gas will be provided from Åsgard B via the Tyrihans D field subsea template. Processed oil will be shipped to the Åsgard field for storage and offloading to shuttle tankers. Gas will be exported via pipeline to the Åsgard Transport System to Kårstø.

The Maria field is located approximately 20 kilometres east of the Kristin field and about 45 kilometres south of the Heidrun field in the Halten Terrace in the Norwegian Sea. Wintershall Norge is the operator of the license with a 50%(1) share. Petoro has a 30% share and Centrica Resources (Norge) owns the remaining 20%.

(1)Subject to approval by the relevant authorities and after closing of the transaction by the end of 2015, Tellus Petroleum will acquire 15% of the Maria development from Wintershall.

About Wintershall

Wintershall Holding GmbH, based in Kassel, Germany, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF in Ludwigshafen. The company has been active in the extraction of natural resources for 120 years, and in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas for over 80 years. Wintershall focuses on selected core regions where the company has built up a high level of regional and technological expertise. These are Europe, Russia, North Africa, South America, and increasingly the Middle East region. The company wants to expand its business further with exploration and production, selected partnerships, innovation and technological competence. Wintershall employs some 2,500 staff worldwide from 40 nations and is now Germany’s largest, internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer.

About Odfjell Drilling

Odfjell Drilling is a listed international drilling, well service and engineering company with 3000 employees and operations in more than 20 countries.