Shelf Drilling has secured a contract for drilling work at CNOOC’s Golden Eagle field in the central North Sea.
The award will see the Shelf Drilling Fortress jack-up rig deployed for operations at Golden Eagle, around 70 miles off Aberdeen.
Awarded to Shelf’s Oslo-listed North Sea subsidiary (OSLO:SDNS), the contract covers two wells, and is expected to last between four and five months.
The contract value for this firm period is approximately $17 million (£13.3m), and includes options for additional wells with a total estimated duration of 13 months.
The firm acquired the 2014-built Fortress jack-up – formerly known as the Noble Sam Hartley – alongside four other units sold off by Noble Drilling in a bid to address competition concerns as a result of its takeover of rival Maersk Drilling.
Shelf said operations are planned to start up in September 2023.
CNOOC operates Golden Eagle with a 36.54% share, alongside EnQuest (26.69%), NEO Energy (31.56%) and ONE-Dyas (5.21%).
The contract marks the latest in a series of campaigns at the field after warnings of declining output in recent years.
While the asset only started up in 2014 and produced nearly 15 million boe in 2021, it has dropped out of the rankings for the North Sea’s top 15 production hubs this year, reaching 17th place – despite having previously held the number eight spot.
A four-well infill campaign was completed in 2021, while another began last December from which first oil was expected in June 2023.
In a trading update in May, joint venture partner EnQuest said it expected a further a platform well programme to commence later in the year.
Meanwhile, reports earlier this year suggest CNOOC has paused a mooted sale of its UK portfolio after initial offers for its assets failed to meet expectations. The Chinese oil giant may look to resume the sales process this year, if conditions improve.
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