Norway's Island Drilling Company has been awarded a 3-year contract for well plugging by Equinor on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
Island Drilling’s Island Innovator semisubmersible rig will handle the work, permanently plugging 15 to 20 wells annually across a total of nine licenses, including the Heidrun, Snorre, and Norne fields.
The contract, valued at an estimated $330 million, calls for a scope of work that includes mobilization, upgrades, and integrated drilling services. The Island Drilling contract also includes five 1-year options that could extend the work into the next decade.
“We will drill 600 improved oil recovery wells and about 250 exploration wells to maintain our production on the NCS towards 2035. At the same time, many wells will be permanently [and] securely plugged,” Erik Kirkemo, senior vice president for drilling and well operations, said in a statement.
Equinor is currently the operator of more than 1,400 production and injection wells on the NCS.
Equinor said in the announcement that when possible it reuses old wells through the slot recovery method to save drilling costs. This maximizes a well's production by plugging part of the well before drilling to new targets from the existing wellhead.
Equinor has also awarded plugging services contracts to Archer Oiltools and Baker Hughes Norge for a duration of 3 years, with two, 2-year options.
Archer will be responsible for planning plugging operations for 26 wells. The work, which will take place over the next 7 years, will begin next year.
Equinor plans to permanently plug 80 subsea wells and 90 platform wells by 2030. From 2035 to 2045, the company said it plans to launch a larger plugging campaign across the NCS.
