Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has inked a deal with Petrobras, clinching a contract for its semi-submersible rig, the Noble Discoverer, to render drilling services off the coast of Colombia.
The contract guarantees a firm duration of 400 days, scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2024. Additionally, Noble Corporation revealed that the agreement includes a provision allowing an extension of the duration for an additional 390 days.
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Blake Denton, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Contracts for Noble, expressed enthusiasm about broadening the collaboration with Petrobras through this contract win for the Noble Discoverer.
“This also means that we will build further on the Discoverer’s already announced presence in Colombia, which is one of the South American basins that is now coming back with exciting prospects,” he continued.
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Presently, the Noble Discoverer is engaged in operations offshore Colombia for Ecopetro. The rig, constructed by KFELS in Singapore in 2009, boasts an operational capacity, capable of functioning in water depths of up to 10,000 feet (3048 meters) and achieving a maximum drilling depth rating of 40,000 feet (12,192 meters).
In a significant development in 2022, Petrobras and Ecopetrol jointly announced a substantial natural gas discovery at the Uchuva-1 deepwater well situated in Colombia’s Tayrona block, positioned 32 kilometers off the country’s coastline. With Petrobras overseeing operations in the Tayrona block, this discovery is anticipated to mark Colombia’s initial gas production from deepwater fields, slated to commence in 2026.
