John Fredriksen-controlled Northern Ocean, a semisub spin-off of Northern Drilling, has won more work for one of its rigs.
Oil and gas player Rhino Resources opted to amend the contract for the 2018-built Deepsea Mira awarded to the company earlier this year.
Namely, Northern Ocean won a contract in July for one firm well for Rhino, one firm well for another operator, and three optional wells, with an estimated firm duration of 112 days and a projected value of around $40m.
The rig was originally hired to drill the Volans-1X exploration well in Namibia, the third successive well to be drilled on PEL85 by Rhino and its partners NAMCOR, Korres Investments, and Azule Energy. Operations started in mid-July 2025.
Rhino Resources has now decided to incorporate an additional firm well test and extend the rig contract by a total of 28 days. The additional well test will take place before the existing three optional wells.
This extension will increase Northern Drilling’s firm backlog to approximately $394m.
