DEPARTMENTS • DRILLING AHEAD
DRILLINGCONTRACTOR.ORG VIRTUAL PANEL DISCUSSIONS
VPDS “Back to Basics:
Improving Performance
Through Digital Well
Construction” ORIGINAL AIR DAT E:
24 AUGUS T 2023
Learn how SLB is leading the
performance assurance charge
— evolving drilling by combining
its latest drill bit technologies,
rotary steering systems and
autonomous controls. These are
crucial advances for building wells
in the most efficient and consistent
manner and enhancing real-time
reservoir characterization for more
precise trajectories that elevate well
performance. On 24 August, Drilling Contractor
hosted a live Virtual Panel
Discussion, sponsored by SLB:
• Wiley Long, SLB Product
Champion PDC Bits, discusses
the evolution of Smith Bits drill bits
• Roberta Santana, SLB Product
Champion PDC Bits, highlights
the SnapScan app and dull-
grading digitalization
• Ziad Akkaoui, SLB Digital
Champion, details autonomous
downhole tools
• Stephen Whitfield, Drilling
Contractor Associate Editor
(moderator) Sponsored
by drillingcontractor.org/
vpd-access-back-to- basics
6 Recognizing the counterproductive
nature of ‘sustainable investing’
BY LINDA HSIEH, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
One of the most interesting sessions I
attended at the IADC World Drilling
Conference this year was a panel focus-
ing on how the industry should finance
its decarbonization initiatives (see p34 for
our report). On the one hand, companies
understand the needs of the energy transi-
tion and are seeking ways to reduce the
carbon footprint of drilling and rig opera-
tions. On the other hand, change comes at
a cost, so who will pay for that cost?
While the panel looked more inward at
whether operators or drilling contractors
should shoulder the financing, there is
also a broader perspective to the question,
as we know that there is a general trend
of investors and banks turning away from
the oil and gas industry.
But is shunning oil and gas actually a
good sustainability strategy? Not accord-
ing to a recent report from two econom-
ics/finance experts from Yale and Boston
College. In fact, they say that the so-called
sustainable investing, which tends to
direct capital away from industries like oil
and gas, is counterproductive.
The focus of sustainable investing is
often to build a portfolio of low-emissions
“green” firms – like insurance or finan-
cial services companies, for example. At
the same time, investments in so-called
“brown” firms, or those with higher emis-
sions profiles, get discarded.
But those “green” firms likely had little
to no emissions simply due to the nature
of their business, the authors pointed out,
and further investment in them is unlikely
to yield innovations that will drive impact-
ful, long-term emissions reductions. They
“have little scope for further improvement
in their impact,” the report said.
And for “brown” firms that are starved
of cheap capital, there is less incentive
to make changes to their operations or
methods of production. “Brown firms
have approximately 260 times as much
environmental impact as similarly sized
green firms, and have substantially greater
scope for change,” according to the report.
‘No form of energy is truly
renewable’ Another interesting perspective on the
energy transition was delivered recently
by Scott Tinker, Director at UT Austin’s
Bureau of Economic Geology. “No form
of energy is truly renewable, as we have
to either mine for it or dump the waste –
such as used batteries and wind turbines
– back into the ground,” he said at the 2023
AIEN International Energy Summit.
Moreover, the energy transition is not
about switching from current sources of
energy to new sources of energy. “We’re
just adding energy to meet demand and
trying to lower emissions,” he said.
Dr Tinker also highlighted how quickly
nations can change their priorities when it
comes to the energy trilemma.
“Energy security underpins economic
security, which in turns lets you invest
in the environment and obtain climate
security. If you start by focusing on low
emissions, you will not get energy that is
affordable or reliable. You need to focus
on the ‘radical middle’ of this particular
triangle,” he said.
World events like the signing of the
Paris Agreement at COP21, the COVID-19
pandemic and the war in Ukraine have
all influenced where that middle ground
moved to, pushing and pulling on people’s
attention among energy security, econom-
ic security and climate security.
“Energy and economy are intertwined,”
he said. “60% of the world’s population
live with some sort of energy poverty.
The emerging economies are desperate
for affordable energy. Energy won’t end
poverty, but we can’t end poverty without
energy.” DC
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023 • DRILLING CONTRACTOR
Scan me to access
“Counterproductive Sustainable Investing:
The Impact Elasticity
of Brown and Green
Firms.” bit.ly/45gmxOa
DRILLING & COMPLETION NEWS • DEPARTMENTS
Transocean ultra-deepwater drillship to drill offshore Mexico under $518 million contract
An independent operator awarded
Transocean a 1,080-day contract for a sev-
enth-generation ultra-deepwater drillship
in the Gulf of Mexico offshore Mexico.
Transocean will select the drillship from
among the Deepwater Invictus, Deepwater
Thalassa and Deepwater Proteus no later
than one year prior to the earliest date in
the commencement window. The contract
will contribute approximately $518 mil-
lion in backlog and is expected to com-
mence between Q4 2025 and Q2 2026. The
contractual dayrate is subject to a semi-
annual cost adjustment with a baseline
established on 1 July 2023.
“The fact that our customers are secur-
ing rigs well in advance of their programs
and committing to long-term contracts
clearly demonstrates the tightness of the
market," Transocean CEO Jeremy Thigpen
said. "Additionally, our ability to designate
the specific rig closer to the commence-
ment of the program provides us with
increased flexibility ."
Valaris set to reactivate DS-7 drillship
for 12-well contract offshore West Africa
Valaris was awarded a 12-well contract offshore West Africa
for the VALARIS DS-7 drillship, which will be reactivated for
this contract. It is expected to commence in Q2 2024 and has
an estimated duration of 850 days. The total contract value is
estimated to be $364 million. The contract requires minimal
customer-specific upgrades to the rig and does not include the
provision of any additional services.
This is Valaris' seventh floater contract since mid-2021 that
requires reactivation .
Signing the strategic partnership agreement were (front row,
from left) Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Executive Director, Low
Carbon Solutions and International Growth; Rovshan Najaf,
SOCAR President; and Nicolas Terraz, TotalEnergies President,
Exploration & Production.
ADNOC bolsters its international gas
footprint with investment in Caspian Sea
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is acquiring a 30%
equity stake in the Absheron gas and condensate field in the
Caspian Sea. ADNOC will own a 30% participating interest in
Absheron, with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and
TotalEnergies each holding 35% stakes. ADNOC’s investment into
the Caspian region aims to create a substantial growth position as
it enters the international gas market, and reinforces the energy
partnership between the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.
Entering into a strategic partnership with SOCAR also elevates
ADNOC’s long-standing partnership with TotalEnergies .
Tullow and partners begin production from
Jubilee South East project offshore Ghana
Tullow, alongside its joint venture partners Kosmos Energy,
Ghana National Petroleum Corp , Petro SA and Jubilee Oil Holdings,
announced the successful startup of the Jubilee South East Project
offshore Ghana. Two more producers and one water injector are
expected to come on stream this year to help sustain gross Jubilee
production over 100,000 bopd. This increased level of production
is expected to be maintained at Jubilee over the next few years
as multiple future drilling locations have already been identified.
'Clustered exploration' approach leads to
6 additional discoveries offshore Malaysia
PETRONAS Carigali has made six oil and gas discoveries in
five blocks off the coast of Sarawak, Malaysia: Gedombak in
Block SK306, Mirdanga in Block SK411 , Sinsing in Block SK313,
Machinchang and Pangkin in Block SK301B, and Kalung Emas
in Block SK315 .
The discoveries were achieved on the back of an intensive
domestic exploration drilling campaign commenced in late
2022, which had also led to the discovery that year of Nahara-1
in Block SK306, one of PETRONAS Carigali's most significant
oil discoveries within the last decade.
PETRONAS Carigali attributes these successes to its "clus-
tered exploration" approach, a unique style of prospecting
suited for highly matured geological provinces.
Borr jackups, Gerd and Thor, headed for
work in Middle East and Southeast Asia
Borr Drilling secured two binding letters of awards from
undisclosed customers for its premium jackup s Gerd and Thor.
The awards increase Borr's firm backlog by approximately 421
days, excluding optional periods .
Gerd will work in the Middle East under a contract with a
firm scope of 270 days and one unpriced optional scope of 60
days. Upon concluding its current contract with Addax in Q3 ,
the rig will undergo mobilization, statutory surveys and recer-
tification before starting its new commitment in December
2023. Thor will work in Southeast Asia under a contract with a
firm scope of two wells with an estimated duration of 151 days .
This contract is expected to commence in December 2023 in
direct continuation of the rig’s ongoing contact.
DRILLING CONTRACTOR • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023
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