Dolphin Drilling semi to work for Shell on Knarr field

Dolphin Drilling has secured further work for its Borgland Dolphin semisubmersible drilling rig to start in early 2020. The company has won a contract with AS Norske Shell in Norway to provide rig support for the drilling and completion of a gas producer well on the Knarr field.

The work will commence in February following the completion of two other projects for the rig. Dolphin Drilling recently announced the Borgland Dolphin had secured contracts with i3 Energy for drilling operations on firstly the Liberator oilfield and then the Serenity prospect in the UK’s Central North Sea. The Borgland Dolphin is believed to have set a new standard for the fastest rig turnaround when it was taken from smart stacking to operational mode in just 70 days for the i3 Energy awards.

For the Shell contract, Dolphin Drilling will be working under the operator’s One Team system with integrated drilling and completions providers in a water depth of approximately 450 m on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

“We appreciate the trust Shell has placed in us by commissioning the Borgland Dolphin for this project,” Bjørnar Iversen, Dolphin Drilling Chief Executive Officer, said. “Shell is a strategic client for us and we look forward to a long-term relationship with the company. This is proof Dolphin Drilling and its assets are capable of working with anyone.”

“The Borgland Dolphin is a highly efficient rig with an excellent performance record,” Mr Iversen added. “Its layout is ideally suited for optimized drilling and completion work, and we look forward to securing more activity on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the UK Continental Shelf and further afield internationally.”

The fifth generation drilling and ram rig was completely rebuilt in 1999, part of the deepwater, harsh-environment drilling specialist’s fleet of assets, most of which have been recently refurbished to incorporate the latest technology. The Borgland Dolphin also rates as one of the “greenest” mobile drilling units in the North Sea.

One of the first drilling companies to operate in the North Sea in 1965, Dolphin Drilling, which also has a presence in Singapore and Brazil, recently announced its new international headquarters at Howe Moss Drive, Aberdeen, and operational bases in the Granite City and Stavanger following significant investment from a US-based private equity firm.