Thai-based offshore contractor Mermaid Maritime has deferred the deliveries of two rigs and one subsea vessel, to get more time to find work for these assets.
The company ordered the MTR-3 and MTR-4 tender rigs and the subsea construction vessel Mermaid Ausana back in 2014.
In a statement on Friday, it said it had agreed with China Merchants Industry Holdings, the builder of the rigs and the vessel, to take the deliveries at a later date.
Originally, Mermaid would have taken the deliveries during 2016. However, this has now been postponed to December 21, 2016, for the rigs, and Jun 30, 2017, for the vessel.
The company said the delay would allow time to consider and implement preferred courses of action for the application of the ordered assets. It said those actions might include accepting delivery of one or more of these newbuilds at an earlier that than the one stipulated in the delay agreement.
However, Mermaid also added that it might consider a sale of the rigs and the vessel to interested third parties.
The decision reflects the tough time the industry is in at the moment, as the oil price was above $100 a barrel when Mermaid placed the orders, hoping to benefit from a high demand for offshore services at the time. However, oil prices have since tumbled, forcing the oil companies to cut E&P expenditures, leaving many in the supply sector without work.
Oil price fell below $49 a barrel on Friday, following a ‘surge’ to $50.51 on Thursday, which was a seven-month high.
Offshore Energy Today Staff