Offshore drilling roundup: bpTT’s subsea success, Stena’s legal push and new ADES and Dolphin contracts

bp Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) completed a seven-well drilling program in late November at the Cypre gas field, which started production last April.

Cypre is in 80 m of water in the East Mayaro Block, 78 km offshore southeastern Trinidad. Four of the wells had been drilled and completed prior to startup.

The project team has now drilled, completed and commissioned the remaining three wells; all are tied back to bpTT’s Juniper platform.

Cypre, which is the company’s third subsea development, should deliver about 250 MMcf/d at peak.

The company’s president David Campbell said, “This is the latest achievement in a year of strong delivery for bpTT, including the bp-operated Frangipani gas discovery and working with our joint venture partner, EOG, to deliver first gas from the Mento major project.”

Moreover, this week, bpTT awarded the Massy Wood joint venture an EPC and commissioning contract for the Juniper platform’s topsides upgrade project, part of the offshore Ginger Field development.

Massy Wood will perform detailed brownfield engineering followed by the topside upgrades. The work scope includes measures to enhance subsea pipeline corrosion protection, and the integration of methanol injection systems to support safe well startup and flexible operations. 

In March, Massy Wood completed the project’s pre-FEED and FEED phases.

Stena seeks remission for unpaid drilling services offshore Ghana

The drilling contractor holds two London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) awards against Springfield Exploration and Production and Springfield Energy. These concern offshore drilling services performed during September and November 2019 using the drillship Stena Forth.

Ghanaian courts recognized both awards, Stena Drilling added, and granted the company permission to enforce them as judgements of the court.

Recently, the government announced a potential acquisition by the State of Springfield’s interests in the West Cape Three Points Block 2 (WCTP2) in the offshore Tano / Western basin where the drilling took place.

It led to the discovery of the deepwater Afina light oil/gas discovery, which Springfield at the time estimated could hold more than 1.5 Bbl.

Stena has since written to Ghana’s Minister of Energy and Green Transition, requesting that appropriate provision be issued to resolve Springfield’s debt if the acquisition goes ahead.

The company pointed out that it is a long-established drilling contractor in Ghana’s upstream sector, with a significant track record in supporting the country’s energy objectives.

“Ghana is widely viewed as an attractive investment jurisdiction for international companies," CEO Erik Ronsberg said. “As part of the State acquisition of Springfield’s WCTP2 interest, we encourage the government to uphold this hard-earned reputation and ensure trust in the jurisdiction is maintained by settling, in full, the debts owed to Stena Drilling.”

ADES, Shelf Drilling ink APAC region P&A contract 

ADES Holding has secured the first contract for its new subsidiary Shelf Drilling, a two-year fixture for the jackup Compact Driller offshore Brazil.

Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) will use the rig for plugging and abandonment (P&A) work starting in fourth-quarter 2026. After completing another contract offshore India next May, the rig will undergo preparations in Singapore for the Brunei campaign.

The estimated value of the BSP award is about $63 million.

Dolphin, Oil India secure deepwater drilling contract

Oil India has taken up an option with Dolphin Drilling to extend the contract for the deepwater-capable semisub Blackford Dolphin by an extra 120 days to May 10, 2026.

The rig will continue to perform drilling, testing and abandonment tasks offshore India’s east coast.