Rigs News

Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp on Thursday reported a first-half profit that rose 66%, helped by higher earnings across most of its main businesses and a rebound at its offshore & marine (O&M) unit.Keppel, which traces its roots to a small ship repair yard corporatized in 1968, has seen its renewable energy and asset management units bounce back this year, offsetting a decline in its urban development business."In an extended inflationary environment, demand for real assets with cash flow, such as those which Keppel develops, operates and manages, will continue to grow," Chief Executive

International Maritime Industries (IMI), which describes itself as the largest shipyard in the MENA region, and offshore construction firm Lamprell on Tuesday announced the successful completion of the load-out and float-off of the first jackup drilling unit being constructed for IMI.The jack-up rig will now undergo intensive mechanical completion and commissioning before being transferred to IMI’s yard in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia, for final commissioning before going on a contract…

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine) has agreed to a multi-billion dollar merger with Keppel Corp's larger offshore and marine unit, a year after the Temasek-backed firms began deal talks to cope with an industry downturn.The loss-making oil rig builders have been whiplashed by years of oversupply and oil price volatility as well as a drop in new orders.Such troubles have been exacerbated by the global transition towards renewable energy, consolidation at Chinese and South Korean rivals…

A Valaris drillship hit the Akti bulk carrier ship on Saturday, after breaking free its moorings near the VT Halter Shipyards and Chevron docks in Pascagoula,  Mississippi. At around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Coast Guard Sector Mobile watchstanders received a report from the National Response Center of a collision between two vessels. Per the Coast Guard, Valaris' a 752-foot drillship, reportedly broke free of its moorings due to high winds and collided with the Akti bulk carrier. According to photos shared by the Coast Guard…

Offshore accommodation rig provider Floatel International has awarded a contract to Semco Maritime for service work on the semi-submersible accommodation unit Floatel Superior.Semco said that the harsh environment accommodation rig is expected to dock at Hanøytangen in Norway, mid-February. According to information on social media, the rig has already arrived.The Floatel Superior rig was last year deployed offshore Norway, supporting Var Energi's Balder FPU work, and, according…

BP Trinidad and Tobago has chartered the Safe Concordia offshore accommodation rig from Prosafe, to provide gangway-connected operations at Cassia C offshore platform in Trinidad. The contract will last around 160 days and will be a straight continuation of Safe Concordia's current engagement at Cassia C. The new contract will run from March 24, 2022, to August 31, 2022. BP Trinidad and Tobago will have options to extend the charter for up to four weeks.The value of the firm part of the deal is $19.4 million.Jesper Kragh Andresen…

Offshore drilling company Seadrill Limited has secured a contract for the West Jupiter drillship with Brazil's Petrobras for work in the Búzios field offshore Brazil. The contract is for a firm term of 1,040 days with the start-up slated for December 2022. The total contract value is about $264 million, including mobilization revenue and additional services.Seadrill’s Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Jackson, said: “Petrobras is a long-standing and valued customer of Seadrill, and signing a third contract with them this quarter is testament to our strong partnership and commitment to the Brazilian market. Seadrill is focused on growing our fleet in strategic basins where we see high growth potential…

Singapore state investor Temasek is working with its portfolio companies to help them become more green as advancing sustainability goals becomes the new normal, the firm's chief sustainability officer said on Thursday.Temasek, with a portfolio valued at S$381 billion ($278.81 billion) as of March, has committed more than S$2 billion this year to the decarbonization sector alone, Steve Howard told the Reuters Next conference."We want to work with those companies and help make sure that they are supported in having transition plans," Howard added.

The 228-meter-long former drillship Vitoria 10000, now renamed Hidden Gem, has this week arrived in Rotterdam, The Netherlands to start its conversion into a subsea mining vessel.The news of the vessel's arrival was shared by The Metals Company (formerly DeepGreen Metals Inc.) whose strategic partner Allseas acquired the Vitoria 10000 in March of 2020, as its configuration is well-suited for modifications that will enable the deployment at sea of a 4.5 kilometer-long riser to bring polymetallic nodules up from the seafloor.In partnership with The Metals Company…

Offshore drilling company Seadrill has moved a step closer to reaching bankruptcy emergence after the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved the disclosure statement for the company's proposed plan of reorganization.Seadrill said Friday that the court had authorized the company to distribute the disclosure statement and solicit votes from all lenders on the Plan. The court also set a hearing to consider approval of the Plan for October 26, 2021."The…

Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has sent a force majeure notice to its client Shell over the Noble Globetrotter II drillship contract after the rig was damaged earlier this week in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in severe weather during Hurricane Ida. The 2013-built ultra-deepwater drillship has a contract with Shell lasting until early September 2023 at a flexible day rate of at least $275,000.U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday that the drillship, located 80 nautical miles south, southeast of Grand Isle, La., in the Gulf of Mexico, had sustained damage and that a plan was being developed to bring the vessel into port for repairs.Around 140 crew members were on board when the storm hit, Reuters reported earlier this week, citing USCG petty officer Carlos Galarza said.Noble Corp.

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it is responding to a drillship that reportedly sustained damage as Hurricane Ida ripped through the Gulf of Mexico and into Louisiana as a Category 4 storm.The agency said it was notified during the storm that the ultra-deepwater drillship Noble Globetrotter II had been damaged, and that it had been in touch with both the vessel's master and owner Noble Corporation since Sunday to gauge the extent of any damage and to ensure readiness of onboard lifesaving equipment.The Liberian-flagged drillship and its 100-plus crew are currently located 80 nautical miles south, southeast of Grand Isle, La. The vessel's U.S. licensed master has maintained that the drillship was not in distress and is not actively taking on water, according to the Coast Guard.

Billionaire John Fredriksen-owned offshore drilling company Northern Drilling said Tuesday it had canceled a drillship resale contract with the South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).In May 2018, Northern Drilling signed agreements with DSME to buy two newbuilding 7th generation DP3 and ultra-deepwater capable drillships DSME known as the West Aquila and the West Libra, for $296 million each with $90 million paid at contract signing and the remainder at delivery. However, Northern Ocean said  Tuesday it had canceled the contract for the West Aquila drillship due to delay of delivery as well as a repudiatory breach of contract.Northern Drilling…

Offshore drilling firm Transocean said Wednesday it had secured contracts for two offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The contracts are worth $55.5 million in total.Transocean said that its Deepwater Conqueror drillship had won a one-well contract with "a major operator" in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. "The value of this contract adds approximately 85 days and $28.5 million in the backlog," Transocean said, without sharing the identity of the client. Deepwater Conqueror is a DSME 12000 ultra-deepwater drillship, built/upgraded in 2016/2017 by DSME in South Korea.The Deepwater Conqueror is currently in the Gulf of Mexico, under a $579,000 a day charter with Chevron. This contract expires in December.

Law firm HFW said Tuesday it had advised Chinese shipbuilder Shanghai Shipyard on a UK Court of Appeal win relating to a US$170 million payment under a shipbuilding contract for an offshore drillship.The Court of Appeal overturned an April 2020 decision from the UK High Court that allowed the buyer of an offshore drillship – Reignwood International – to withhold a final payment installment that was due on delivery of the vessel, pending the outcome of arbitration proceedings.The Court of Appeal unanimously overturned a first instance decision in a preliminary issues trial concerning the proper characterization of a shipbuilding performance guarantee issued by Reignwood…

Four people fell into the sea and went missing after an offshore construction unit tilted off the coast of Huzhou City, China, CGTN, a Chinese state-backed news website, said Monday.According to CGTN, there were 65 people on board when the incident took place.CGTN said in a video tweeted on Monday that four people had been missing, with the rest of the crew rescued.The news agency further said that search and rescue efforts involving helicopters and vessels were still underway.It also said that the jack-up unit had stabilized.According to available information…

Offshore drilling contractor Transocean on Wednesday released its quarterly offshore drilling rig fleet status report, which shows one contract terminated in Norway, and several new deals secured Norway, U.S. Gulf, Brazil, Angola, Brunei, and, possibly, Myanmar. The rig owner's total backlog is now around $7.3 billion.While some of the contracts were already announced as they were coming in during the quarter, Transocean shared some new information, too.It said Thursday that the Hungarian oil firm MOL had in July terminated the Transocean Barents semi-sub drilling contract for convenience. The drilling rig was supposed to stay with MOL between May and December 2021…

Italian oilfield services giant Saipem has chartered a newbuild drillship directly from South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard.Saipem expects the drillship - named Samsung Santorini - to be delivered in November 2021, when the Italian firm will take the 7th generation rig on a two-year charter. No dayrate details have been shared. Recent fixtures for 6th/7gen rigs saw dayrates in the $190.000-$210.000 per day range, according to Bassoe data.While Saipem did not explicitly say it…

Offshore drilling rig contractor Seadrill has asked creditors to write off more than 85% of its debts in exchange for a 99% stake in the reorganized company, a court filing showed.The Oslo-listed firm controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen in February filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, the second time it has done so in four years.Seadrill has in the past year written off billions of dollars worth of assets due to a bleak outlook for the oil sector…

South Korean shipbuilding giant Samsung Heavy Industries must pay $411 million to offshore drilling contractor Stena Drilling, a London arbitration tribunal has ruled.The spat between the two companies began after Stena Drilling in 2017 terminated the order for the construction of the harsh environment semi-submersible drilling rig Stena Midmax.Stena Drilling had ordered the rig in June 2013, with the delivery expected in March 2016. Citing excessive delay, Stena Drilling on June 1, 2017, terminated the rig order.

Offshore drilling company Transocean has reached a deal with Singapore-based Jurong Shipyard - a Sembcorp Marine subsidiary - to delay the delivery of the ultra-deepwater drillships Deepwater Atlas and Deepwater Titan, originally ordered in 2014. As part of the agreement, Jurong Shipyard has agreed to accept deferred payment for both rigs, Transocean said.The Deepwater Atlas and Deepwater Titan are the world’s first eighth-generation ultra-deepwater drillships and only rigs to feature a 3…

A jack-up rig owned by Malaysian drilling contractor Velesto tilted and submerged at a location offshore Sarawak, Malaysia on Tuesday, the rig owner said."The Board of Directors of Velesto Energy Berhad [...] regrets to inform that an incident involving one of our rigs, Velesto Naga 7, occurred at the worksite due to rapid penetration into the formation on 3 May 2021, Monday, whilst operating in offshore Sarawak for a client. "The rig tilted and subsequently on 4 May 2021, Tuesday, VELESTO NAGA 7 submerged at the location.

Temasek-backed Singapore conglomerate Keppel Corp and smaller rival Sembcorp Marine are exploring a potential tie-up which would see them combine their struggling offshore and marine (O&M) businesses after years of losses in an industry downturn.A successful deal would see Keppel spin off the new business into a listed entity and ultimately exit from the legacy business. Temasek would become the largest shareholder in the combined unit, while Sembcorp will also own a stake in it.Keppel's O&M unit…