Maersk Drilling has announced the naming of the ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig 'Maersk Intrepid' at a ceremony held in a Singapore shipyard.
The 'Maersk Intrepid' is the first in a series of four ultra-harsh environment jack-up rigs to enter Maersk Drilling's rig fleet. The four jack-up rigs represent a total investment of US$2.6 billion.
The first three jack-up rigs, including 'Maersk Intrepid', will be delivered from Singapore in 2014-2015, and the fourth will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea in 2016.
After delivery from the yard, 'Maersk Intrepid' will mobilise to the North Sea and commence a four year firm contract with Total E&P Norge for drilling complex wells on the Martin Linge field development in the Norwegian North Sea. The estimated contract value for the firm contract is US$550 million, and the contract includes four one-year options.
The jack-up rigs feature a leg length of 206.8 metres, making the rigs the world's largest. They are designed for year-round operation in the North Sea, in water depths up to 150 metres.
According to Maersk Drilling, uptime and drilling efficiency are maximised through dual pipe handling. While one string is working in the well bore, a second string of casing, drill pipe or bottom hole assembly can be assembled/disassembled and stored in the set-back area, ready for subsequent transfer for use in the well bore thus reducing the non-productive time.
