Germany’s Wintershall Dea has awarded a contract to Saipem for the 2012-built semisub rig Scarabeo 8 to finalise the drilling campaign of six wells at the Nova field in the Norwegian North Sea.

The award comes after the contract for the Seadrill-operated West Mira semisub was terminated in March of this year due to an operational accident.

Scarabeo 8 is expected to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2021. The contract also includes options to drill additional Wintershall Dea-operated wells.

“We have worked successfully with Saipem on the Scarabeo 8 rig in the past and look forward to renewing our partnership. Nova is an important project for Wintershall Dea and we are confident that securing Scarabeo 8 puts us in a strong position to complete the remaining wells, and deliver the field safely and efficiently,” said Alv Solheim, managing director of Wintershall Dea Norge.

Nova is located about 120 km northwest of Bergen and some 17 km southwest of the Gjøa platform. Wintershall Dea is the operator with a 45% interest. The field is being developed as a subsea tieback to the Neptune Energy-operated Gjøa platform.