Saipem’s 12,000-foot drillship Santorini is mobilizing from Côte d’Ivoire, where it has worked for Eni, to Namibia.
The rig is expected to arrive in Namibian waters by mid-October.
Market sources have indicated that Santorini has been sublet from Eni by Galp Energia for work offshore Namibia.
Galp will conduct a four-well campaign to explore and appraise the Mopane Complex, following up the Mopane exploration campaign that concluded in April 2024.
During the previous exploration campaign, Galp encountered oil at the Mopane-1X and Mopane-2X wells.
The next campaign will begin this quarter and include two exploration wells and two appraisal wells.
Santorini has been working for Eni since March 2022.
In April 2023, Saipem secured a two-year contract extension for the rig with Eni, starting in August 2023 and valued at $280 million.
Eni has used the rig in the US GOM, Egypt, and Côte d’Ivoire.

The ultra-deepwater drillship Santorini is an innovative and advanced drillship capable of worldwide, year-round operations in exploration, appraisal, and development drilling, as well as well-completed activities. Among her chief benefits: the high pay load capacity, at more than 20,000 t, allows the loading of large quantities
of consumables, reducing the need for frequent reloading and the number of required supply vessel trips, thus cutting overall operating costs for the client.
The large capacity of living quarters (215 beds) and the outfitting with two complete last-generation stack bop’s that allow the vessel to operate in fields where the most severe standard conditions of well control equipment are required. – Esgian