Deepsea Mira Semi-Sub Up for Shell’s Drilling Job off Namibia

Deepsea Mira rig (Credit: Odfjell Drilling)

Shell has booked Northern Ocean’s Deepsea Mira semi-submersible rig for a drilling campaign offshore Namibia.

The Odfjell Drilling-managed rig has been scheduled to start operations in Namibia in April 2026.

The contract covers one firm well and includes one optional well, with an estimated duration of 45 days for the firm well and a projected firm backlog of approximately $16 million. The contract will increase NOL’s firm backlog to approximately $387 million.

Shell is in the early stages of exploring for offshore oil and gas in Petroleum Exploration License 39 (PEL 39) with its joint venture partners, QatarEnergy (45% participating interest) and NAMCOR, the national oil company of Namibia (10%).

Built in 2019, the Deepsea Mira is a sixth generation dynamically positioned/anchor-moored semi-submersible drilling rig of Moss Maritime CS60E design. It is designed to operate in both benign and harsh environments, with a maximum operational water depth of 3000 meters.