France’s supermajor TotalEnergies SE has exercised an option for Bermuda-headquartered drilling contractor Northern Ocean’s offshore drilling rig Deepsea Mira, which is currently operating in Africa.
Northern Ocean Ltd (NOL) confirmed last week the development and said a subsidiary of TotalEnergies SE has exercised the previously announced option.
“The firm term of this contract has, as a result, been extended by approximately 65 to 93 days,” NOL said.
This extension provides approximately $27m to $38m of additional revenue backlog and will increase NOL’s firm backlog to approximately $515m to $545m, it added.
Northern Ocean chief executive Arne Jacobsen said: “The Deepsea Mira, with Odfjell Drilling’s services, is one of the most capable rigs for year-round operations in harsh weather conditions. In the last four months, the company has increased its contract backlog by about US$500 million.”
Northern Ocean owns two high specification offshore drilling units designed for harsh environments, the Deepsea Mira and the Deepsea Bollsta.
The company earlier this year and specifically on August 9 in a stock exchange notice announced an extension of the contract with a subsidiary of TotalEnergies SE for continued work in Africa using the Deepsea Mira. The company said at that time that “the firm term of the contract is extended from October 2024 for one well and provides one additional well option.”