Maersk Drilling Names Third XLE-Type Jack-Up

Maersk Interceptor. Photo (c) Maersk Drilling

Maersk Drilling has announced the delivery of its third and final XL Enhanced (XLE) ultra harsh environment jack-up rig being constructed by Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore.

The new rig was officially named Saturday morning at a ceremony held at the shipyard which saw sponsor Mrs. Margareth Øvrum, Executive Vice President in Statoil, having the honor of naming the rig Maersk Integrator.

Maersk Integrator is the third in a series of four XLE-type ultra harsh environment jack-up rigs to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet, representing a total investment of USD $2.6 billion. The first three jack-up rigs, including Maersk Intregrator, have now all been delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard, while the fourth will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea in 2016.

With a leg length of 206.8m (678 ft) the XLE-type rigs are the world’s largest jack-up rigs and are designed for year round operation in the North Sea, in water depths up to 150 m (492 ft).

Maersk Intregator will mobilize to the North Sea and commence a four year firm contract with Statoil for drilling on the Gina Krog field in the Norwegian North Sea. The estimated contract value for the firm contract is USD $620 million.

“With the addition of Maersk Integrator to our fleet, we continue to develop our market leading position in the challenging Norwegian market. With Maersk Integrator we now have three of the world’s largest, ultra-harsh environment jack-up rigs in our fleet, enabling us to provide safe and efficient drilling operations to our customers in the Norwegian market ,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board of the Maersk Group, and continues:

“The early delivery and good performance is one of the reasons we continually partner with Keppel FELS. Throughout the construction period of the three XLE’s, they have been able to consistently provide value-added services while delivering products of the highest technical abilities to our satisfaction”

Maersk Integrator follows delivery of the first two XLE-type rigs, Maersk Intrepid and Maersk Interceptor, in 2014. Both rigs are currently under contract in the North Sea.

More reading: Maersk Drilling Names World’s Largest Jack-Up

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