Egyptian company Petrobel has extended a contract for Saipem’s jack-up rig for work offshore Egypt.
According to data from VesselsValue, Petrobel extended the contract for the Saipem-owned Perro Negro 4 jack-up drilling rig by two additional years last Friday. The contract started on Wednesday, March 1.
Saipem said in its 4Q 2016 financial results that the rig has been under contract with Petrobel, a JV company between Eni and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, since the beginning of 2017.
It is unclear as to where the rig will operate when the contract begins. Saipem currently has vessels working on the Zohr field. At the moment, the Italian oilfield services provider has the Castorone, Castoro Sei, Saipem FDS, Normand Maximus, and the Saipem 7000 vessels working in the field.
Another option for the Perro Negro 4 jack-up is to carry on working on the Belayim field in the Gulf of Suez as it did last year where it operated as a work-over rig.
According to the latest AIS data, the rig is warm-stacked in the Port of Dubai and will arrive at its destination on March 27.
The Perro Negro 4 is a three-legged cantilever type jack-up drilling rig of Marathon Le Tourneau class 150-44 C design. The rig, built in Brownsville in 1977, can drill as far as 16,000 feet and work in depths of 150 feet of water. It can accommodate 70 people.
Offshore Energy Today has reached out to Eni requesting more information about the rig’s destination. Should the Italian company respond, the article will be updated with new information.
Offshore Energy Today Staff