Statoil will use the state-of-the-art drilling rig Stena Don on the Halten Bank when the rig is handed over from Stena Drilling this autumn.
The rig will be used to drill exploration and production wells in the area in the course of next year. Stena Don’s first assignment will be to drill an exploration well in the Stær prospect near the Svale find.
The drilling programme for the rig has only been clarified for the first year, but Statoil plans to contract Stena Don for five years. The rig will also be used for maintenance of subsea wells, reports Arne Jacobsen, project manager in the rig management unit in Exploration & Production Norway.
The contract is an important step in the modernisation of Statoil’s rig portfolio:
This rig represents a new generation of drilling and completion rigs. It has a dynamic positioning system, which means that it can hold its position without the use of anchors. It can therefore be moved quickly to a new location without the risk of coming into conflict with subsea equipment,” says Mr Jacobsen.
Stena Don was named in a ceremony at the Offshore & Marine yard in Sandnes on Saturday 20 October.