A $68 million agreement puts a deep water rig on patrol offshore Norway for nine months starting in February, the companies involved said Thursday.

Odfjell Drilling, trading on the Oslo exchange, announced a contract with Aker BP for the lease of its Deepsea Stavanger semi-submersible rig. The deal puts the rig at "various locations" in the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea for nine months starting in February.

"The contract with Aker BP is an important opportunity for Odfjell Drilling to demonstrate its continued exceptional track record and develop a relationship with potentially one of Norway's largest oil companies," CEO Simen Lieungh said in a statement.

The agreement is an indication that exploration and production trends are recovering after dropping off during the weak market that prevailed for most of last year. One of the first companies out of the gate with second quarter results, Aker BP reported production of 145.3 million barrels of oil equivalent, an increase of 14.8 percent from the previous quarter.

The company said it expects to produce between 135 million barrels of oil equivalent and 140 million barrels of oil equivalent per day for all of 2017, an upward revision of about 5 percent. About half of the 18 billion barrels of oil equivalent yet to be discovered in Norwegian waters are in the Barents Sea.

Odfjell Drilling said its rig would move over to Aker BP's hands after German energy company Wintershall completes its contract at the Maria field offshore Norway. Wintershall estimates the Maria field holds about 180 million barrels of oil equivalent and most of that exists as oil.

Tweet

U.S. shale player Sanchez boosted by second quarter acquisition
Washington (UPI) Aug 9, 2017
U.S. shale exploration and production company Sanchez Energy said its output increased more than 40 percent over the first quarter of the year. Sanchez is one of the larger operators in the Eagle Ford shale basin in Texas and added more than 300,000 acres to its portfolio through a March acquisition from rival shale player Anadarko Petroleum. With the assets entrenched in its por ... read more

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only