Norwegian oil company Statoil has won a court case initiated by Diamond Offshore Drilling for a termination of a drilling contract in 2014.
Namely, the Norwegian oil giant in June 2014 terminated the contract for the Ocean Vanguard semi-submersible drilling rig “due to technical aspects of the rig.” The termination came nine months ahead of the expiration date of the original contract.
In September 2014, a subsidiary of Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Statoil ASA in the Stavanger District Court in Norway, alleging that Statoil breached the drilling contract for the mid-water semi-submersible.
The Ocean Vanguard contract provided for a dayrate of approximately $454,000 and was estimated to conclude in accordance with its terms in late February 2015.
On December 23, 2015, the judge entered a judgment finding that Statoil did not breach the contract. Diamond Offshore said it would appeal the judgment.
The Ocean Vanguard is registered in the Marshall Islands with Det Norske Veritas as the classification society. The rig was built in 1982 and received Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the Petroleum Safety Authority in Norway in July 2004.
Offshore Energy Today Staff