The Ocean Onyx Semi-submersible rig will undertake Beach’s Victorian Otway offshore drilling program, which is expected to commence in December 2020.
The agreement covers the drilling of up to nine wells – six firm and three options – with drilling operations expected to continue until March 2021, subject to extension.
Beach said the first well expected in the drilling sequence is the Artisan 1 exploration well, followed by a series of development wells in the Geographe and Thylacine gas fields.
Beach Managing Director and CEO Matt Kay said the company is pleased to be engaging with Diamond for this new drilling agreement during difficult times for the industry.
“It means Beach can move forward with its plans to develop additional natural gas supplies for the east coast gas market,” he said.
“We look forward to working closely with Diamond over the coming weeks to prepare for the start-up of the offshore drilling campaign.”
The agreement is at a globally competitive rig rate for deep water semi-submersible rigs and also includes provisions for COVID-19 related costs and delays.
While remaining subject to several conditions, Beach expects the agreement to be finalised within the next few weeks.
For more information visit the Beach Energy website.
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