Qatar Petroleum (QP) has announced it has awarded contracts for eight offshore jackup drilling rigs required for the North Field expansion project. The rigs are planned to be mobilised and ready for drilling activities from January 2020.
Contracts for six of the eight rigs were awarded to Gulf Drilling International (GDI), while the contracts for the remaining two rigs were awarded to Northern Offshore Drilling Operations Limited of the US. The contracts are awarded for committed terms ranging from two to four years, with exercisable options to extend the drilling programme durations if required.
The drilling programme planned for the eight rigs is a major component of the expansion project to increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 MTPA to 110 MTPA. The scope includes the drilling and completion of 80 new wells from eight wellhead platform locations. Contract awards for jacket fabrication were made earlier in April 2019.
H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QP President & CEO, said: “This award package is the latest in a series of steps in QP’s plan to execute the North Field expansion project.” Qatargas is executing this mega-project on behalf of QP.