The Ocean Rig semi-submersible drilling rig Leiv Eiriksson, currently working offshore the Falkland Islands for Borders & Southern Petroleum, has been chartered for about three years by a consortium of operators in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
While the company declined to disclose the names of the client companies, it said the rig will be used to drill a total of 15 wells on the Norwegian Shelf for a revenue backlog of some $653million.
Ocean Rig said the consortium will also have three options to allow it to keep the Leiv Eiriksson on contract beyond the initial three-year period, with each option for an additional six wells.
The rig is presently drilling the first of two wells for Borders & Southern.
Once it has completed the second, it will move on to a single-well project for Falkland Oil & Gas, thereafter to return to Norwegian waters late this year or early next year to begin the consortium contract.