Equinor has recently awarded a 540-day contract to the Valaris DS-17 drillship. The vessel, capable of operation in water depths of over 3600 meters, is set to start operations in Bacalhau field in 2023. The oil company has in addition chartered the drillship West Saturn for a 4 years firm contract with 4 additional 1 (4×1) year option each. Equinor has under charter 6 OSVs in addition to the 2 drillships to attend the demands of the field and environmental emergency response. Equinor is the operator for the Bacalhau field with 40% participation. ExxonMobil also holds 40% and Petrogal holds 20%.
