Equinor let a contract to Noble Drilling Norway AS to drill three wells at Valemon gas and condensate field in the northern part of the North Sea utilizing the Noble Lloyd Noble drilling rig beginning in summer 2021. The drilling campaign is estimated to take 230 days.
The contract includes an option to drill one extra well at the field and 11 wells not included in license. The rig contractor also received a master frame agreement, the operator said.
The total value of the day rates for the fixed part of the contract is estimated at $51 million. Additional cost includes integrated services such as managed pressure drilling, treatment of cuttings and wastewater as well as running casing and tubing, further, rig modifications, mobilization and demobilization.
“We are very pleased with the job this rig has done for us at the Mariner field off the coast of Scotland, in particular the safety culture,” says Erik G.
Kirkemo, senior vice president of drilling & well operations. The world’s tallest jackup rig, Noble Lloyd Noble can stand on the seabed in up to 150 m of water under tough weather conditions.
Valemon field—between Kvitebjørn and Gullfaks Sør about 160 km west of Bergen—is a standalone development project containing about 192 million boe. It produces gas and condensate from Lower Jurassic sandstone in the Cook formation and Middle Jurassic sandstone in the Brent group. The deposit has a complex structure with many fault blocks. The reservoirs lie at a depth of 3,900-4,200 m and have high temperature and high pressure.
Gas from Valemon is sent through the existing pipeline between Huldra and Heimdal, which is a hub for further transportation to the European gas markets.
Condensate is transported to Kvitebjørn for stabilization and from there to the Mongstad refinery near Bergen. Equinor is operator of the Valemon license with 66.78%. Partners are Petoro (30%) and Shell (3.22%).
