Premier contracts rig for 2015 offshore Falklands campaign

June 4, 2014
Premier Oil plc has signed a contract for a harsh environment, dynamically positioned semisubmersible to drill multiple wells offshore the Falkland Islands.

Offshore staff

LONDON – Premier Oil plc has signed a contract for a harsh environment, dynamically positioned semisubmersible to drill multiple wells offshore the Falkland Islands. The company has also entered a rig-sharing agreement with Noble Energy Falklands.

The rig will mobilize to theFalkland Islands to start the campaign in late 1Q/early 2Q 2015. It will drill a minimum of six wells, four operated by Premier and two by Noble.

According toFalkland Oil & Gas (FOGL), a partner to both operators, option slots have been secured that could lead to additional drilling. These comprise eight options that can be exercised prior to the rig being mobilized and up to eight more to be elected during the drilling campaign.

As things stand, the program will probably begin with two Premier-operated wells in theNorth Falkland basin followed by Noble-operated two wells in the South and East Falkland basins, and two more Premier-operated wells in the northern area. The total firm program is set to last 240 days, excluding mobilization.

FOGL will participate in three wells in the North Falkland basin on the Zebedee, Jayne East, and Isobel Deep prospects. All are in license PL004, southeast of Premier’sSea Lion field development. Premier will additionally drill the Elaine prospect, claiming that Isobel/Elaine hold similar potential to Sea Lion.

In the South and East Falkland basins FOGL will participate in two Noble-operated wells. Prospect identification, based on recent 3D surveys, will continue into this summer. The partners need time to analyze the 12,000 sq km (4,633 sq mi) of new data, FOGL explains.

06/04/2014