Norwegian rig owner Island Drilling has clinched a new contract for its 2012-built semisub,
Island Innovator
, with Azinam, which is set to be acquired by Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas, an exploration company focused on the offshore Atlantic Margin in Guyana, Namibia and South Africa.
The rig will be utilised in Block 2B, offshore South Africa, for the upcoming drilling of the Gazania-1 well. Colin Kinley, co-founder and COO of Eco Atlantic, said the company is planning for mobilisation of the rig in late August.
The Block 2B joint venture partners are Africa Energy, with a 27.5% working interest, a subsidiary of Panoro Energy holds 12.5% and Crown Energy indirectly holds the remaining 10%. Eco Atlantic will become the operator and hold a 50% working interest, subject to the completion of the Azinam acquisition.
The Gazania-1 well is located in the Orange Basin in South Africa. The Orange Basin straddles the offshore waters of Namibia and South Africa, where major discoveries on both the Graff-1 well, drilled by Shell, and the Venus-1 well, drilled by TotalEnergies, have recently been announced.
