Maersk Drilling agrees to swap jack-ups at Aker BP fields offshore Norway

Maersk Drilling and Aker BP have entered into a rig swap agreement that will see the jack-up rig Maersk Reacher replaced by the low-emission jack-up rig Maersk Integrator for well intervention and stimulation work at the Valhall and Hod fields offshore Norway at the end of February or early March.

The previously announced Maersk Reacher workscope will be transferred on to the Maersk Integrator with an added scope of about eight months, Maersk Drilling said.

This means that Maersk Integrator will be employed until January 2023.

This contract swap arrangement will add about $29 million to Maersk Drilling’s revenue backlog.

“We’re delighted to confirm this contract following the news in December 2021 about our agreement to renew the frame agreement with Aker BP,” said Maersk Drilling chief operating officer Morten Kelstrup.

“Maersk Integrator will be employed to assist with the continued development of the Valhall and Hod fields, building on the excellent groundwork laid by the Maersk Reacher team in our collaboration with Aker BP.

Aker BP said it is expecting increased efficiency for the intervention and stimulation activities at Valhall and Hod.

Maersk Integrator, an ultra-harsh environment CJ70 XLE jack-up rig, was delivered in 2015 and is currently warm-stacked in Aamoyfjorden outside Stavanger, Norway after completing a drilling campaign for Aker BP last November.