Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) said today that Stena Drilling, of Aberdeen, had nominated a drillship for its Covid-delayed Perseverance well.
London-listed BPC said the Stena IceMAX vessel would start drilling the well in mid-December, targeting almost 800 million barrels of oil.
The firm had to postpone the work earlier this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Announcing the contract award in May, BPC said the terms of the Stena deal meant it could lower the cost estimate by 15% for the well.
It said total payments to Stena would range between $8m and $11m.
BPC chief executive Simon Potter said: “In March 2020, the Company was within weeks of commencing the drilling of the Perseverance #1 well when compelled to defer operations due to the anticipated impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As might be expected when such an advanced well plan is halted so close to final implementation, major elements were already in train or sufficiently well-established such that reactivation is a relatively straightforward matter.
“With the clarity of the anticipated delivery date of the Stena IceMAX into the field this work can now be reactivated against a detailed timetable and progressed.
“I very much look forward to updating shareholders in the coming months as we get closer to drilling.”