Offshore driller Shelf Drilling is set to expand its fleet with three jack-up rigs. The company, one of the world’s largest jack-up rig contractors, has decided to conduct a private placement of new common shares, aiming to raise $250 million, to be used for fleet expansion. Shelf has entered into l
UK drilling contractor Ensco went from black to red during the first quarter of 2017 as its revenues dropped by 42 percent due to decline in rig utilization and dayrates. The driller on Wednesday posted a net loss of $25.7 million, compared to $175.3 million profit in the year-before period. Revenue
Offshore deepwater drilling contractor Seadrill has received notification from British oil giant BP to begin preparations to return the West Capricorn semi-submersible drilling rig back in operation. The 2011-built West Capricorn rig is under a long-term contract with the UK oil major operating in t
Cairn Energy is set to spud an exploration well at the FAN prospect offshore Senegal. The well is the first pure exploration well to be drilled there since the discovery wells of FAN-1 and SNE-1 in 2014 after a series of SNE appraisal wells. According to Far Ltd, a partner in the Senegal joint ventu
Statoil has awarded Prosafe a contract for the provision of the Safe Zephyrus semi-submersible accommodation vessel for a giant North Sea development – the Johan Sverdrup field. Under the contract, the Safe Zephyrus will support Phase 1 of the Johan Sverdrup hook-up and commissioning project in the
Offshore driller Ensco has been awarded several contracts and contract extensions for its jack-up rigs. In its fleet status report on Monday, the driller said that the 2005-built jack-up rig Ensco 106 was awarded a four-well contract with Sapura Energy offshore Malaysia, which started in March 2017
Following a one-rig-drop in the week before, last week’s U.S. offshore rig count was down by one more rig, according to a Friday report by the oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. BHI Rig Count: U.S. +10 to 857 rigs U.S. Rig Count is up 10 rigs from last week to 857, with oil rigs up 5 […
Offshore driller Odfjell Drilling has been awarded a contract by the Austrian oil firm OMV for the Deepsea Bergen semi-submersible drilling rig. Further to a letter of intent announced back in March, Odfjell Drilling on Friday signed a firm contract with OMV’s Norwegian unit, OMV (Norge) AS, for one
The world is awash with more offshore rigs than it will ever need. But established rig owners can ignore that and focus on the market recovery. By David Carter Shinn Certain trends which signify a rig market recovery have emerged insidiously over the past four months. Now they’re obvious enough to
Prosafe, an owner and operator of semi-submersible accommodation rigs known as flotels, has decided to sell another one of its units for scrap. In a Friday operational update for the first quarter of 2017, Prosafe said it has taken the decision to sell the Safe Regency unit for scrap. The flotel, wh
Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has decided to cold stack one of its drillships. In its latest fleet status report on Thursday, the driller said that the drillship Noble Bully I is en route to Curaçao, preparing to cold stack. The drillship has been working for Shell in the U.S. Gulf
Norway’s Statoil has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill an exploration well in the Barents Sea with the Songa Enabler drilling rig. The well is located in block 7219 in production license 532 in the Barents Sea where Statoil is the operator. The offshore safety body
Offshore drilling contractor Rowan Companies has been awarded more work for its jack-up drilling rigs in Saudi Arabia, Norway, and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. According to its latest fleet status report on Wednesday, Rowan has been awarded a contract extension for the Gilbert Rowe jack-up drilling rig
A CHC helicopter that crash-landed last week on the Petrobras-operated Sevan Brasil drilling rig off Brazil has been removed from the helipad. Following a “rough landing” by the helicopter owned by CHC’s Brazilian unit, BHS, a video emerged this week showing its landing on the rig’s helideck. The ri
