Equinor secures Hercules semi for 2024 Canada drilling campaign
Written by Nick Blenkey
In another sign of strength in the offshore drilling market, John Fredriksen associated SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE: SFL) reported today that it has signed a drilling contract in Canada with a subsidiary of Equinor ASA for the harsh environment semi-submersible rig Hercules. The estimated contract value is approximately $100 million.
“We are pleased to sign the third contract for the Hercules since we took redelivery of the rig at the end of 2022 with yet another blue-chip operator,” said Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management AS. “With this contract, SFL has now approximately $200 million of revenue backlog on Hercules and secured undisrupted employment for the rig until the fourth quarter of 2024. This contract together with other recent contract rewards in the industry illustrates that the market for advanced harsh environment semi submersibles is firming and expected to remain strong for a prolonged period.”
Odfjell Drilling will manage the rig on behalf of SFL under the contract, which is for one well plus one optional well, and is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2024. The duration for the firm contract period is approximately 200 days including transit to and from Canada..
Hercules is currently drilling for ExxonMobil in Canada before transiting to Namibia for a contract with Galp Energia, expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023.
According to Odfjell Drilling the Hercules is a sixth generation deepwater and harsh environment semi-submersible.
Delivered by DSME, South Korea, in 2008, it is a state-of-the-art tall derrick, dynamic-positioned unit of GVA 7500 design and is equipped with a full conventional mooring spread for operations in water depths of 100 to 500 meters.
