Three companies bag $1.75bn in offshore drilling deals with Equinor

Norwegian energy giant Equinor has extended contracts for drilling services on the Norwegian Continental Shelf with KCA Deutag, Odfjell Technology, and Archer.

The initial contracts with the trio were signed in 2018 with three option periods of two years. The first two-year option was exercised in 2022. Equinor said that the options for drilling services on fixed installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf will provide jobs for 2,000 people per year, and have an estimated value of NOK 18.4bn ($1.75bn).

The three companies will deliver drilling, completion, intervention services, plugging, maintenance, and modifications on all 19 of Equinor’s fixed installations. The new contracts will start on October 1, 2024, in direct continuation of the currently active deals.

The deal with KCA Deutag involves new contracts and extensions worth over $450m in total. In addition to a four-year extension for an existing contract scope covering five platforms across the Oseberg and Kvitebjørn fields, the driller was also awarded additional work to deliver drilling, maintenance, and engineering services on the Njord and Heidrun platforms. The company also has an agreement with Equinor for the management, operation, and maintenance of the Askepott and Askeladden Cat J jack-up rigs.

Odfjell Technology, on the other hand, was awarded a NOK 2bn contract for drilling services on four fixed platforms. Equinor exercised extension options for drilling services on the Johan Sverdrup and Heidrun platforms while awarding new deals for work on the Grane and Visund assets. According to Odfjell Technology, the deal is based on limited competition on parts of a contract awarded by Equinor in 2018.

The third deal went to Archer and is a four-year contract extension for platform drilling services with an estimated contract value of NOK 8bn.

Under the contract, Archer will provide platform drilling services to nine of 19 Equinor’s installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The platforms included in the deal are Gullfaks A, B and C, Sleipner A, Snorre A and B, and Statfjord A, B and C. For this contract, Archer will service 12 rigs on the NCS.