Explorations and production firm Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) has signed an offshore drilling rig contract with Stena Drilling to use its drilling rig for the Perseverance #1 well offshore Bahamas.
Under the contract, Stena Drilling will provide a sixth-generation drilling rig and associated equipment and services. This includes the supply of a managed pressure drilling (MPD) unit.
As per the terms of the drilling contract, BPC has reduced its cost estimate for the Perseverance #1 exploration well by around 15%.
In March this year, it said it will delay the drilling of the well to October this year due to the adverse impact of Covid-19.
Bahamas Petroleum Company CEO Simon Potter said: “This decision – to lock in a rig now, at an already favourable rig rate, rather than try and second guess what markets and availability will look like later in the year – speaks to our intent to ensure Perseverance #1 is drilled at the soonest opportunity, and provides the necessary certainty needed for operational planning.
“Acting decisively in this way is consistent with our single-minded focus on technical delivery.
“Importantly, the commercial parameters in the rig contract have allowed us to not only revise down significantly the anticipated well cost, but also clears the way to revisit our funding strategy with adequate time to ensure we have the funds available as and when we need them, on the best possible terms.”
The drilling campaign will target recoverable prospective resources of around 770 million barrels of oil. BPC expects a potential upside of 1.44 billion barrels in the northern sector alone.
