Statoil has confirmed it will temporarily suspend the use of the COSL pioneer drilling rig.
The firm credited “overcapacity” in its rig portfolio for the lay-up.
The move follows a similar announcement made earlier this year when the Norwegian explorer decided to temporarily suspend the Scarabeo 5 drilling rig at the end of this month. It’s expected to remain out of commission until the beginning of next year.
“After a careful review of our drilling plan, we find it necessary to suspend COSL Pioneer for the time being,” said Tore Aarreberg.
“At the moment we have three rigs contracted from COSL Drilling Europe. Our offshore organisation enjoys excellent cooperation with the contractor’s drilling teams, and COSL Pioneer has demonstrated consistent, high efficiency in drilling operations. We are in close dialogue with the contractor concerning how the suspension of the rig will be implemented in practice, and we continue to look forward to many years of cooperation with COSL on the Norwegian shelf.”
COSL Pioneer was originally contracted-in through 2016 to be used in the drilling and completion of production wells on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The rig is currently operating in the Visund field. It will be pulled from the project at the end of this month for the rest of the year.
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