Seapulse Ltd. announced a strategic partnership with Maersk Drilling A/S on Dec. 5.

The alliance plans to drill 12 offshore oil and gas exploration wells over the next two years targeting over four billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

Seapulse is executing on an innovative investment strategy adopting a low-cost, high-impact portfolio approach to exploration in order to maximize value creation and diversify risk. The scale of the Seapulse drilling program rivals that of many super-majors by number of wells and potential scale and impact of the target prospects, but with a considerably compressed timeline and cost exposure. The wells will be testing prospects with estimated recoverable resources in excess of four Bboe with significant further running room in the event of success.

By design, the exploration wells to be drilled in the program span diverse play types and basins in both frontier and established areas. The size and diversity of the portfolio provides a significant de-risking element. Maersk Drilling joins the alliance to deliver best-in-class drilling services and act as integrated well services provider, which will allow a strong focus on program synergies and cost management to maximize potential success outcomes.

The target portfolio has been developed over a number of years by several selected leading E&P companies using latest generation seismic data and interpretive technologies in conjunction with their operators and license partners. Seapulse has secured the right to participate in this extensive and diverse range of potentially high-impact wells. By focusing investment specifically on providing the necessary capital for drilling, Seapulse is addressing a significant gap in the market, addressing the inherent industry inefficiencies associated with the traditional farm-in/out processes. Seapulse will additionally benefit from utilizing an integrated service provider approach whilst potentially accelerating high upside value creation for all stakeholders.

“This alliance is a key example of a fully integrated service delivery model aimed at eliminating inefficiencies by aligning incentives and removing complexity across the entire value chain,” Maersk Drilling CEO, Jørn Madsen, said.