In 2023, the supply of drilling units was at historically low levels, a situation driven by structurally high demand after many years of low investment levels in the oil and gas sector. Stena Drilling benefitted from these conditions, with its drill ships and drilling rigs operating in waters across the globe, including the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, and off the coasts of Guyana and Egypt.

“We’ve had a very good year with major energy companies globally showing their confidence in us. It shows that our focus on high performance, strict safety procedures, and efforts to reduce environmental impacts is paying off. I am proud that we are among the selected operators as the market is growing”, says Erik Ronsberg, MD at Stena Drilling.

Stena Evolution, a technologically advanced seventh generation drillship, is a visible example of Stena Drilling’s continued commitment to being an industry leader in deep-water drilling. The vessel has been developed in cooperation with Samsung Shipyards, and during the year Stena Drilling exercised its option to acquire the unit.

During 2023, a long-term contract for Stena Evolution was secured with Shell. The ship will operate in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico from the second quarter of 2024 with an initial contract period of 5 years, with an option to extend the contract.

“We’re very pleased with the contract, which is unusually long for the business. It proves that Stena Evolution is offering added value to customers with its innovative technology that improves both performance and energy efficiency”, comments Erik Ronsberg.

One of Stena Drillings key competitive advantages is its strong corporate culture. This is an important element in maintaining the company’s reputation of being an industry leader within safety and energy efficiency, which is ranked highly by its customers in the oil and gas industry.

“We are a strong team, and we are dependent on competent people with innovative minds to assist us in our efforts to continuously assess opportunities to reduce our environmental impact, which is important to meet increased customers’ demands and to comply with new statutory requirements”, says Erik Ronsberg.

Furthermore, Stena Drilling is committed to support local economic growth and development around the world by building an integrated global workforce. The company works closely with local governments, clients, and partners in the locations where they operate, to tailor a local approach to the needs in each location and to identify and comply with legislative requirements.

Stena Drilling has well-functioning systems and processes in place to handle safety and environmental issues. The company was one of the world’s first drilling contractors to achieve ISO 50001 certification. It was also one of the first in the industry to achieve ISO 14001 certification for its entire fleet.

The company has a team working on digital solutions to monitor real-time data from the fleet to increase the efficiency of the operations. The environmental team use the information to lower energy consumption and emissions, and to cut waste.

In 2023, Stena DrillMAX, was the first drillship to be awarded DNV’s Abate(P) notation. DNV’s Abate (P) class notation represents not only ambitious emission reduction targets but also a comprehensive energy and emission management system aligned with ISO 50001 standards. By verifying compliance with the abate requirements DNV states that the drilling unit complies with current best industry practice for greenhouse gas abatement.

The most important risks for Stena Drilling are safety, increased political instability, disruptions supply chain, and reduced confidence in the brand, which can affect business opportunities and staff recruitment. To manage these risks the company has management plans in place which includes identifying the threats and mitigating their effects, as well as following up and taking concrete actions as needed.

Environment

Comments: Stena Drilling’s carbon emissions increased in 2023 due to customer requirements for more transfers at higher speeds.

Society

DEVELOP AND PROMOTE LOCAL PERSONNEL

33%

Local Guyanan employees²

Goal: >30%