Odfjell Signs Three-Year Deepsea Bergen Contract with Vår Energi

Odfjell Drilling has signed a three-year contract worth roughly $518 million in firm backlog for its Deepsea Bergen semi-submersible, keeping the harsh-environment rig employed for Vår Energi until early 2031. The formal signing, announced November 10, converts a letter of award issued on September 10, 2026 into a committed drilling program on the Norwegian continental shelf operator's portfolio.

The numbers tell the story cleanly. The $518 million estimate covers firm work and mobilization fees, but it excludes annual escalation, integrated services, performance bonuses and fuel incentives — meaning the final value of the deal could run higher as those components come into play.

What does the contract cover?

The core commitment is straightforward: three years of firm drilling work. Deepsea Bergen will mobilize for Vår Energi in early 2028, once it wraps up its existing contract.

Beyond the firm period, the deal carries four one-year priced options. If Vår Energi exercises all of them, the rig stays contracted into early 2035 — an unusually long potential runway for a single-client relationship in the North Sea drilling market.

With the ink dry, Odfjell Drilling now counts Deepsea Bergen as fully booked until early 2031.

The rig behind the deal

Deepsea Bergen is no stranger to demanding work. Delivered in 2019 as an enhanced and extended CS 60 E harsh-environment semi-submersible, the unit can drill to a maximum depth of 12,000 metres and houses 180 personnel.

The rig's spec sheet also reflects the sector's push toward cleaner offshore operations. Its power units are equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to cut exhaust emissions, and the vessel is configured for closed-bus operations — an electrical architecture that allows generators to share load more efficiently and reduces running hours.

Why the timing matters

The letter of award landed less than 12 months after Odfjell Drilling acquired Deepsea Bergen, according to the company. That turnaround — from purchase to a multi-year commitment with a major Norwegian operator — signals how quickly owners of modern harsh-environment capacity are converting assets into secured revenue in the current market.

For Vår Energi, locking a capable semisub through 2031, with optionality to 2035, secures drilling capacity for its forward program without exposure to future dayrate volatility on the firm portion.

What to watch

The watch items are concrete: mobilization timing in early 2028 as the current contract ends, and whether Vår Energi begins exercising the four one-year options — each one pushing the rig's security further toward 2035 and adding to a backlog that already stands at an estimated $518 million before escalators and bonuses.