Statoil has come to an agreement with Seadrill to use the West Aquarius deepwater drilling rig for their exploration activities offshore the province of Newfoundland in Canada in 2012-2013. Statoil will begin a three-well drilling program, beginning at the end of 2012. The program will include two exploration wells in the Flemish Pass Basin and one in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin. Securing rig capacity was a key component to Statoil achieving its ambitions offshore Newfoundland.
A sixth generation semi-submersible DP3 vessel built in 2009 in South Korea, the West Aquarius can operate in harsh environments up to 3,000m water depths. The rig has been taken on as an assignment from ExxonMobil Deepwater Rig Limited.