Noble Corporation said on Thursday that the Noble Tom Madden has been awarded a contract for drilling operations offshore Guyana.
The company made the announcement in its second quarter 2018 report.
“Following the close of the second quarter, the drillship Noble Tom Madden was awarded a contract for work offshore Guyana, which includes two firm wells, plus three optional wells,” the company said.
ExxonMobil Guyana Country Manager, Rod Henson had told OilNOW on Monday, July 23, that the company had not yet decided who the contractor will be but a decision would have been made soon in this regard.
“Essentially we are going to contract a third drillship. We haven’t done that quite yet, we are looking for the right one to come in. I think we will be able to provide something soon in the weeks ahead but most likely that drillship will be coming in sometime later this year and it would be dedicated to further exploring, trying to explore more about the block,” he said, referring to the 6.6 million acres Stabroek Block where the company has a 45 percent stake along with Hess, 30 percent and CNOOC Nexen 25 percent.
The Noble Bob Douglas is currently drilling development wells in the Stabroek Block for the Liza Phase 1 development, with first oil targeted for first quarter 2020.
ExxonMobil and its joint venture partners have so far discovered more than 4 billion barrels of oil in the Stabroek Block. The company estimates that as much as 750,000 barrels of oil per day will be produced by 2025 from multiple developments in the block.