By OGJ editors
OUSTON, Jan. 29 -- Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. has awarded Stavanger-based Smedvig ASA a new $80 million contract for use of its West Navigator deepwater drillship off West Africa.
West Navigator, which drilled three wells for Woodside in Chinguetti field off Mauritania in 2003, will drill 11 production wells and several exploration wells off Mauritania during June, 2004-July 2005.
"The contract was awarded based on previous record-breaking performance in Mauritania," said Smedvig CEO Kjell E Jacobsen (OGJ, Jan. 5, 2004, p. 9).
Smedvig also secured an $18 million contract extension from Esso Production Malaysia Inc. for the T-2 self-erecting tender rig, which currently is performing production drilling for Esso in Malaysia. The 1 year extension, which began in January, includes an option for another 2 years.
Under terms of the contract, in April or May, T-2 will be replaced by the Smedvig-designed T-9, which currently is under construction in Malaysia. It will have enhanced drilling capabilities to allow for simultaneous parallel activities, Smedvig said.
