Maersk Drilling awarded drillship contract with Shell in Malaysia

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract by Shell for 2013-built drillship Maersk Viking to drill four development wells at the Gumusut-Kakap project, offshore Malaysia.

The contract is scheduled to commence in December 2021, and has an estimated duration of 150 days.

The deal is worth around $34m, including a mobilisation fee, and includes five additional one-well options for work offshore Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei Darussalam.

Morten Kelstrup, COO of Maersk Drilling, commented: “We’re delighted to confirm that Maersk Viking will return to Shell Malaysia for work on the Gumusut-Kakap project. In this way, we will be able to build further on the great collaboration that the rig’s highly capable crew has established during its current campaign with Brunei Shell Petroleum.”

In February, Maersk Viking was awarded a contract by Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) to drill a single exploration well offshore South Korea commencing in June 2021, with an estimated duration of 45 days.