StatoilHydro leases deepwater drillship

Feb. 15, 2008
StatoilHydro AS will use the GSF Explorer ultradeepwater drillship to drill three exploration wells on Indonesia's Karama Block off West Sulawesi in late 2009.

Uchenna Izundu
International Editor

LONDON, Feb. 15 -- StatoilHydro AS will use the GSF Explorer ultradeepwater drillship to drill three exploration wells on Indonesia's Karama Block off West Sulawesi in late 2009. The company has a 51% stake, and Pertamina holds a 49% share in the block.

StatoilHydro is a member of the Makassar Strait Explorers Consortium, which signed the 2-year contract to lease the rig; together the group will drill 12 exploration wells. Marathon International Petroleum Indonesia Ltd. is the lead operator for the consortium, and each company is responsible for its own committed wells. However the group is now planning products procurement and services programs.

The first of the three wells in the Karama license is scheduled for second half 2010, StatoilHydro said. Karama is in deep water in Indonesia's Makassar Strait.

The MSEC members are Anadarko Popodi Ltd., ConocoPhilips (Kuma) Ltd., Eni Bukat Ltd., and Talisman (Sageri) Ltd.

Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].