Jack-Up Maersk Giant Avoids Stack with New North Sea Contract

Mearsk Giant. Photo: Maersk Drilling

Maersk Drilling says it has been awarded a new $16 million contract for the jack-up rig Maersk Giant with Danish energy utility DONG Energy, saving the rig from being stacked amid the weak offshore market.

The firm contract covers 150 days of work on the Nini and Siri field in the Danish part of the North Sea and is in direct continuation of the current contract with Talisman, keeping Maersk Giant employed until March 2016.

“We are very pleased to continue our good corporation with DONG Energy, one of our key customers in the North Sea,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group. “In order to navigate the low visibility in the current market, it is essential that we reduce our exposure by securing a solid contract backlog. Therefore, it is also rewarding to see that we secure employment for the Maersk Giant, which otherwise would have been stacked.”

The Maersk Giant is one of the ultra harsh environment jack-ups in Maersk Drilling’s fleet. The rig is fully equipped for high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) drilling and is designed for year-round operation in the North Sea, in water depths up to 107 m (350 ft) with an available leg length below hull of 132 m (435 ft).

Maersk Drilling’s current fleet consists of 22 drilling rigs including drillships, deepwater semi-submersibles and jack-up rigs.

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