Maersk Drilling low-emission drilling rig secured extra work worth up to £48 million with Norwegian energy giant Equinor.
Equinor has exercised a pair of two month options for the Maersk Intrepid, which is working on the Martin Linge field offshore Norway.
And both firms have signed a further two-month extension, keeping the rig on contract until the end of August 2020.
During the contract period, Maersk Drilling will complete upgrades of Maersk Intrepid to turn the jack-up into the first hybrid, low-emission rig.
The upgrades combine the use of hybrid power with low levels of NOx emissions, adding data intelligence to further reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
The project is supported by a grant from the Norwegian NOx Fund, and by Equinor’s decision to introduce compensation formats to stimulate emission reductions.
In addition to the hybrid power and low-emission upgrades, Maersk Intrepid will be outfitted with the NOVOS drilling system, further enhancing the rig’s digital profile.
The system assists the driller in executing processes consistently and enables interfacing with third-party advisory algorithms to enhance drilling performance.
Morten Kelstrup, CCIO of Maersk Drilling, said: “We are proud to continue supporting the development of Martin Linge. It’s great to be able to continue our long-standing cooperation with Equinor, to expand this with the ongoing hybrid, low-emission rig project, and by implementing drilling automation to prepare for the future.”
Maersk Intrepid is an ultra-harsh environment CJ70 jack-up, designed for year-round operations in the North Sea. It was delivered in 2014 and has been operating in Norway ever since.