Noble Energy and its partners at the giant Leviathan gas field have terminated the contract for the Atwood Advantage drillship.
According to Delek, a partner in the field the Leviathan 5 appraisal and production well, being drilled by the rig, is expected to be completed soon, after reaching the final depth planned and verification of the existence of natural gas in three layers of the Leviathan reservoir (Sands A, B and C)
Noble Energy notified the Leviathan partners that since the results of the tender recently received indicate the possibility of contracting with a drilling rig at significantly lower costs than those of the Atwood Advantage rig, it recommends ending the contract with Atwood Advantage after completion of the Leviathan 5 Well and continuing the drilling of the lower part of Leviathan 7 Well with an alternative drilling rig.
Accordingly, Delek said, on July 18, 2017, the Leviathan partners decided to terminate a contract with Atwood Advantage, and promote a contract with the another drilling rig, which will drill the lower part of both Leviathan 7 and Leviathan 3 wells to their final depth, as from the first quarter of 2018. After that the rig will complete the production drilling in the Leviathan project.
The Atwood Advantage is a DP3 Drillship, delivered by DSME in 2013, capable of operating in 3,658 meters (12,000 ft.) of water, drilling depths of up to 12,200 m (40,000 ft.) and has accommodations for 200 personnel.
Delek said the new rig will be fit, among others, to drill deep targets, if such deep target drilling in the Leviathan leases is approved by the Leviathan partners.
Stage 1A development in the Leviathan reservoir development plan is progressing according to the time schedules and budged approved by the Leviathan partners, with the aim of allowing natural gas from the Leviathan reservoir to start by the end of 2019, Delek said.