Wintershall Norge AS has awarded a four-year service contract to support its exploration and development projects in Norway to Halliburton Norge AS.

The contract is effective immediately and will be used for drilling-associated services on Wintershall’s Maria development in the Norwegian Sea. The agreement, which contains incentives for efficient well deliveries, can also be used for other Wintershall activities.

“At an uncertain time for the industry, this contract provides a timely boost for the supplier market while laying the groundwork for efficient construction of our operated development and exploration wells over the rest of the decade,” said Bernd Schrimpf, Managing Director of Wintershall Norge.

Wintershall and Halliburton will immediately begin collaborating on detailed engineering work prior to the start of drilling for the Maria development in the first half of 2017. Early next year, Halliburton will provide services supporting the drilling of six development wells on Maria’s subsea templates located at a depth of around 300 meters on the Halten Terrace in the Norwegian Sea.

“With this contract, we are further pressing ahead with our first operated development in Norway. By using clear performance incentives, we are creating value for Wintershall, our partners and the Norwegian E&P supply chain,” said Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Director for the Maria Project.

Through the contract Halliburton will supply drilling services and associated tools, drilling and completion fluids, cementing, and coring. There is also an option for plugging and abandoning services.

The four-year contract contains options to extend for up to four additional years.

About Maria

Under the approved development plan, 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. 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 the Åsgard Transport System pipeline to Kårstø.

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

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 about 2,000 staff worldwide from 50 nations and is now Germany’s largest, internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer.

About Halliburton

Founded in 1919, Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. With over 55,000 employees, representing 140 nationalities in over 80 countries, the company serves the upstream oil and gas industry throughout the lifecycle of the reservoir - from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production through the life of the field.