Once upgrade completes, the West Elara jack-up will be used by ConocoPhillip for the operations in the North Sea, under a long-term contract.
Owned by North Atlantic Drilling, West Elara jack-up is expected to begin operation in the North Sea in 2018.
The rig will be upgraded at the Semco Maritime rig yard at Hanøytangen of Bergen at the end of the year, after the completion of current contract with Statoil.
Under a long-term contract, West Elara is hired for deployment in the Ekofisk field. Built in Singapore in 2011, the rig holds capacity to accommodate around 120 people
West Elara rig was developed to be used for operation in areas with tough weather and water depths up to 150m.
Semco Maritime rig projects senior vice president Lars Skov said: ”We are pleased that North Atlantic Drilling has chosen us for the assignment. This is a major and important order for Semco Maritime and the largest assignment for our yard in Hanøytangen so far.
“The order also confirms the increased activity in the market of rig upgrades, which we have seen in the second half of 2017.”
North Atlantic Drilling CEO Alf Ragnar Løvdal said: “After an evaluation of tenders, Semco Maritime was appointed the successful contractor. We are looking forward to a strong and successful cooperation with Semco Maritime on this project, being an important milestone prior to the rig starting its operations at the Ekofisk field.”
