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Vietnam’s Petrovietnam Drilling & Well Service Corporation (PV Drilling) has confirmed the arrival of a jack-up drilling rig to Southeast Asia, where it will embark on drilling activities next year.
The PV Drilling IX , formerly Noble Highlander, jack-up drilling rig, which PV Drilling acquired from Noble, left the port of Esbjerg in Denmark on October 30, 2025, and moved to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands to board a specialized transport ship to make the journey to Vietnam.
The jack-up arrived in Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City, on December 25, 2025, completing a two-month transportation journey from Europe to Vietnam with a total distance of 12,855.6 nautical miles.
This is seen as an important milestone in the company’s restart program, opening the stage of completing the preparations before putting the rig in drilling campaigns from April 2026.
According to a representative of PV Drilling, the transportation process was implemented safely, according to plan, fully complying with international technical and maritime safety standards.
During the first restart phase in Denmark from September 2025, PV Drilling IX rig is said to have completed the inspection, operation and commissioning of many important systems and equipment as required by the ABS registry, including: safety equipment, crane systems, motors, generators and rig lifting systems.
“The key technical items are satisfactory, creating an important foundation for the rig to return to operation after a period of maintenance and technical preparation in Europe,” underlined PV Drilling, which claims that the rig will now carry out underwater testing (UWILD) and restart the second phase in three months, including an overhaul of machinery and equipment, pipeline replacement, housing upgrade, installation and commissioning.
The firm will put the jack-up into operation from April 2026, contributing to strengthening drilling capacity, and increasing the workload for drilling-related services in the Vietnamese market and the region. As a result, this is expected to boost revenue and profit of the company’s core services and its member units in 2026 and the following years.
Designed according to Friede & Goldman’s JU-2000E, the PV Drilling IX rig is capable of drilling to depths of up to 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) and operate effectively in waters up to 425 feet (129.5 meters), with the NOV BLM jacking system integrating a high degree of automation.