INPEX lengthens Maersk rig hire for Ichthys project offshore Australia
Offshore staff
LYNGBY, Denmark – INPEX Operations Australia has exercised an option to extend its use of Maersk Drilling’s ultra-deepwater semi Mærsk Deliverer at the Ichthys field in the Browse basin offshore Western Australia.
The one-year extension should take effect in July 2023, in direct continuation of the rig’s current contract, with an option for s further 12-month extension. Since arriving in the country in 2020, the rig has employed a crew comprising more than 80% Australian nationals, double the contractual requirement of 40%.
“The campaign at the Ichthys field has reached several key milestones, including that Mærsk Deliverer was the first-ever rig to use managed pressure drilling in Australian waters,” said Morten Kelstrup, COO of Maersk Drilling.
The DSS-21 column stabilized DP semi can operate in water depths of up to 10,000 ft (3,048 m).
INPEX has also awarded EnerMech a five-year offshore/onshore inspection services, lifting equipment and crane maintenance contract to support the Ichthys LNG development.
Gas and condensate from the Ichthys field, 220 km (137 mi) offshore, are exported to onshore processing facilities near Darwin via an 890-km (553-mi) pipeline.
From next month, EnerMech will supply lifting and rigging equipment, testing, certification and provide 24-hr crane maintenance and technical support.
In December 2020, the company won a five-year contract to support Ichthys LNG Phase 2 through the provision of nitrogen and pressure testing services.
04.19.2022
