Deepwater Well Intervention Contract for Aker Solutions

Aker Solutions' subsidiary Aker Oilfield Services wins contract from Total E&P Angola for vessel-based services

Skandi Aker, Aker's purpose-built intervention vessel will be used for deep and ultra-deep well intervention services.

The agreement is valid for a period of two years plus options for three further one-year periods. The firm two-year part of the contract has an aggregated value of approximately USD 250 million. Start-up of operations is planned to take place offshore Angola in Q1 2013.

Skandi Aker is the first well service vessel of its kind capable of performing riser-based subsea well intervention in deep and ultra-deep waters. Traditionally subsea well intervention has been performed from drilling rigs. But the rigs' high day rates have made such operations very expensive, while rig availability has been limited. The increasing water depths also mean that it has been necessary to develop alternative technology and more cost effective systems to access deepwater wells.

Under the contract Skandi Aker will perform subsea intervention activities related to:
    •    Well re-entry for testing operations
    •    Well re-entry for interventions using wireline, coil tubing and well stimulations
    •    Running/lifting subsea trees with cable or work-over riser
    •    Suspension or plug and abandonment of wells

"Skandi Aker is able to perform deepwater well intervention services that oil companies previously needed drilling rigs to conduct. More importantly we do it quicker and  more cost effectively, which will increase the frequency of intervention operations and enable our customers' subsea wells to produce more oil and gas," says Karl Erik Kjelstad, president of Aker Oilfield Services and head of the Oilfield Services & Marine Assets (OMA) business area in Aker Solutions.