Archer, an oil services company, has secured a significant contract extension with Equinor, the Norwegian state-owned energy giant, in the North Sea. The two-year extension focuses on providing essential services, including plug and abandonment (P&A), fishing, and downhole mechanical isolation equipment.
This contract extension is expected to add approximately $60 million to Archer’s backlog over the two-year period starting immediately.
Nicholas Pantin, EVP of Archer Well Services, expressed satisfaction with the continuation of their Well Services operations for Equinor in the North Sea. P&A services are strategically important for Archer, and Pantin emphasized their commitment to delivering cost-effective and innovative solutions to their clients.
Earlier this year, Archer and Equinor extended their collaboration with a four-year contract for drilling services on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). This expanded Archer’s role to provide platform drilling services across nine of Equinor’s NCS installations out of a total of nineteen.
Archer Secures Major Contract Extension with Equinor in North Sea Operations
Beyond their partnership with Equinor, Archer has recently expanded its footprint with other contracts. These include a two-year extension for platform drilling services in the UK and a new contract for comprehensive platform drilling services offshore Brazil with Trident Energy.
Equinor, on the other hand, has been actively diversifying its operations. They have engaged SLB for front-end engineering design work on an all-electric subsea project at the Fram Sør field offshore Norway. Additionally, Ocean Installer has been contracted for the Troll Phase 3 – Stage 2 project, focusing on engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) tasks.
In recent developments, Equinor has secured two new CO2 storage licenses on the NCS and entered into an agreement with GRTgaz from France for transporting captured CO2 to permanent storage sites offshore Norway as part of the CO2 Highway Europe pipeline project. These initiatives underline Equinor’s commitment to sustainable energy solutions and environmental stewardship in its operations.
