Northern Offshore wins Middle East drilling extension



Drilling contractor Northern Offshore has won extensions for three of its high-spec jack-up rigs to continue working for Qatargas for up to three more years.

Houston-based Northern Offshore said the Energy Enticer, Energy Edge and Energy Embracer will continue to work for Qatargas at its North Field.

In 2019, the drilling contactor won long-term contracts for Energy Enticer and Energy Edge from Qatar Petroleum, now called QatarEnergy, which owns Qatargas. The two Gusto MSC CJ-50 rigs were built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) in China.

The Energy Edge is capable of working in water depths of up to 400 feet and drilling to depths of 30,000 feet. The rig was ordered by Northern Offshore in 2014.

In January 2020, Northern Offshore announced a contract award from QP for the GustoMSC CJ46 jack-up unit Energy Embracer. This rig was delivered from SWS in December 2018.

Energy Enticer started drilling at the Qatargas-operated North Field offshore Qatar in October 2020 — the first of the three jack-ups to begin a long-term contract with the state-owned operator.

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Each of the rigs was awarded a firm four-year charter, plus extension options.

Northern Offshore is the drilling contractor for China’s Shandong Marine Group.