BW Energy has signed an agreement with Borr Drilling to acquire two jack-up drilling rigs for the development of the Hibiscus/Ruche satellite field in the Dussafu license offshore Gabon.
The jack-up drilling rigs, which include the 2003-built sister-units Atla and Balder, will be acquired for a total of $14.5m.
The move comes as BW Energy finalised an alternative development plan for the Hibiscus/Ruche satellite field.
Under the alternative development plan, the acquired jack-up rigs will be converted for use at the field to reduce investments and time to first oil.
BW Energy CEO Carl Krogh Arnet said: “A jack-up conversion will enable us to reduce capital investments by about USD 100 million compared to our previous development plan.
“By re-using facilities we will also achieve a substantial reduction in field development related CO2 emissions compared to a newbuild platform.”
Two rigs to be converted to OI equipped with production facilities
BW Energy plans to convert the two rigs to Offshore Installations (OI) equipped with production facilities.
Following seismic reprocessing, BW Energy identified an increased potential to the Greater Hibiscus oil-in-place volumes. This makes further developments highly likely in the Hibiscus/Ruche area, the firm said.
Arnet added: “This development concept offers tangible financial, schedule and environmental benefits. We have consequently decided to secure a second jack-up at a very attractive price to prepare for the future development of the Dussafu license.
“Acquiring a sister unit will enable us to re-use the engineering and project plans for a second development with obvious synergies.”
As per the calculations, the redeployment and conversion projects are said to offer 70%-80% reductions to greenhouse gas emissions when compared to that of newly built assets, due to shorter yard stays and reduced consumption of steel.
Further benefits are reduced installation cost and the elimination of the need for piling into the seabed for stability.
