Seadrill has received a new four-year contract for the West Saturn drillship from Equinor Brasil Energia for work on the Bacalhau field, offshore Brazil.

Seadrill’s portion of the contract is expected to be valued at $380m, which would include mobilisation, upgrades and integrated services revenue.

The total contract value is subject to the final investment decision by the partnership for the Bacalhau field.

The contract includes four one-year options and is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of next year.

The drilling contractor said it will undertake upgrades to the West Saturn drillship for the purpose of the project.

The firm noted that it will automate the drillship’s human factor safety enhancements to red zone management.

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Seadrill will also increase the drillship’s efficiency with the Plato Performance solution and reduce its fuel consumption by 10-15%.

Seadrill CEO Stuart Jackson said: “The West Saturn’s planned upgrades are a key development in Seadrill’s innovation pipeline, as the adoption of new technologies will improve drilling efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint of Seadrill and our clients.”

Equinor chief procurement officer Mette Halvorsen Ottøy said: “In this contract we have secured a fixed rate for the initial firm period, which includes a performance element that enables the supplier to increase its profit by completing safe and efficient operations.

“We have also agreed on general terms for options, and we believe this contract gives the Bacalhau project good incentives for a long drilling campaign.”

The West Saturn drillship is expected to drill six wells that will lead to the start of production at the Bacalhau field in 2024.

Located in the Santos Basin and in a water depth of roughly 2,000m, the Bacalhau field is expected to produce up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in the first phase.

Equinor has 40% operatorship stake in the field, while ExxonMobil and PetrogalBrasil own 40% and 20% stake, respectively.