MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Total contracts Maersk drillship to spud well offshore Uruguay next March

”Maersk Drilling is very pleased with being selected by Total to drill their first exploration well offshore Uruguay,” said Claus V. Hemmingsen from Maersk

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract for the drillship Maersk Venturer with oil major France's Total. The contract covers one exploration well (estimated duration 120 days) in block 14 offshore Uruguay.

 The estimated contract value for the program is US$ 44m excluding mobilization. The drilling program is expected to commence in March 2016.

“We have collaborated and partnered with Total many times over the years. Total is a highly valued customer of Maersk Drilling, and we are very pleased with being selected by Total to drill their first exploration well offshore Uruguay,” said Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group.

“With this contract, we continue to build our contract backlog and secure work for our rigs and people, which is very encouraging in this challenging market”, he added.

Maersk Venturer is the third in a series of four ultra deepwater drill-ships in Maersk Drilling’s fleet. The four drill-ships represent a total investment of USD 2.6bn. The other three drill-ships have all secured long-term contracts.

French Total will have as partner in the operation US oil company ExxonMobil which recently acquired a 35% stake in the oil block off Uruguay's east coast, according to Uruguay's state oil and refining company Ancap.

The well will be drilled about 400 km from the seaside capital Montevideo at a depth of 3,400 meters, ANCAP said.

Total has been operating in Block 14 since 2012 and carried out seismic surveys covering 7,188 square kilometers. The two firms will invest $200 million and begin drilling the well “in the first half of 2016”, ANCAP announced last month.