Aro News

Esgian reports various drilling contractors disclosing details of discussions with Saudi Aramco regarding jackup contract suspensions in its Week 14 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. These contractors include Shelf Drilling, ADES, Borr Drilling, Arabian Drilling, COSL, and ARO Drilling.Meanwhile, Transocean, Noble, and COSL rigs have firmed up new work in the US Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, and the North Sea, respectively.Report overview:ContractsShelf Drilling has received a notice of suspension of operations on four jackup rigs from a customer in the Middle East.

Esgian reports that offshore drilling contractors secured additional backlog in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Egypt, Nigeria, and Brazil and operators confirmed new discoveries in Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire, and China in its Week 10 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsDiamond Offshore has executed a two-year contract extension with a subsidiary of bp in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for the 12,000-ft drillship Ocean BlackHornet.Shelf Drilling’s 250-ft jackup Rig 141 has secured a two-year…

Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation, on Tuesday announced the launch of its new 5.7L 350 and 400hp Verado outboard engines, said to be the industry's first V10 outboards.The new outboards are compatible with the latest Mercury SmartCraft technologies and will also be offered with an optional dual-mode 48V/12V alternator to pair with Navico Group’s Fathom e-power system, an integrated lithium-ion auxiliary power management system, providing boaters the opportunity…

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…

The global enterprise applications company IFS announced that international offshore drilling contractor Borr Drilling has deployed IFS Applications to improve operations and optimize its IT landscape.The enterprise software company said in a press release that the go-live is part of an implementation that will see IFS Applications rolled out to 10 oil rigs and over 1,000 users by January 2019.Borr Drilling, with a fleet of 36 rigs, 9 of which are currently under construction,  decided to replace its incumbent business systems to support its goal of becoming the world’s leading provider of jack-up drills and drilling services, and to strengthen the efficiency of its international operations…

Offshore driller Ensco Plc said on Monday it plans to buy smaller rival Rowan Cos Plc in an all-stock deal valued at $2.38 billion, as it looks to expand its fleet and benefit from a partnership with Saudi Aramco.This is Ensco's second deal since OPEC-led efforts boosted oil prices in the second half of 2016. Ensco bought rival Atwood Oceanics in a similar deal last year.Rowan shareholders will receive 2.215 Ensco shares for each share held.

Offshore driller Rowan Companies has been awarded a two-well contract for its Rowan Norway jack-up rig in the Mediterranean Sea by Turkish Petroleum.Rowan Companies announced that the Rowan Norway, an N-Class ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig, has been awarded a two-well contract in the Mediterranean Sea by Turkish Petroleum with an estimated duration 100-140 days.The contract is expected to commence in late 2018. The Rowan Norway is currently warm-stacked in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea. Rowan is a global provider of contract drilling services with a fleet of 27 mobile offshore drilling units, composed of 23 self-elevating jack-up rigs and four ultra-deepwater drillships.The Company's fleet operates worldwide…

Rowan Companies plc announced that the Rowan EXL III, an EXL Class high specification jack-up rig, has been awarded a six-month contract from Cantium in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.The contract is expected to commence in early November 2018. The EXL III is currently under contract with Cantium in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico through mid to late August 2018. Rowan is a global provider of contract drilling services with a fleet of 27 mobile offshore drilling units, composed of 23 self-elevating jack-up rigs and four ultra-deepwater drillships.The Company's fleet operates worldwide, including the United States Gulf of Mexico, the United Kingdom and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea…

Lamprell announced its exclusive collaboration with GustoMSC to develop the Lamprell Jackup-43 (LJ43) jackup rig design, creating an advanced drilling rig with the highest level of safe, efficient and reliable drilling capabilities. The LJ43 drilling rig will combine Lamprell’s system integration capability, detailed engineering expertise and construction experience with the robust and advanced technology of GustoMSC designs. The rig utilises GustoMSC’s leg design with a custom designed hull and living quarters developed by Lamprell. It includes various high-end technology features such as a new innovative blowout preventer handling system and enhanced skidding capabilities via a X-Y cantilever, which will enable optimised and highly efficient drilling.

ARO Drilling, a 50/50 joint venture between Rowan Companies plc and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), commenced operations on October 17, 2017. As part of the initial startup of ARO Drilling, Rowan and Saudi Aramco contributed equal amounts of cash into the joint venture. Following these contributions, Rowan sold three of its jack-up drilling rigs to ARO Drilling, including the J.P. Bussell, which was previously idle, and Saudi Aramco sold one of its jack-up drilling rigs to ARO Drilling. Following the purchase of these drilling rigs, ARO Drilling distributed excess cash in the amount of approximately $88 million to each of Rowan and Saudi Aramco maintaining each party's 50% ownership interests in the joint venture.

ASRC Energy Services Response Operations, LLC, a leading offshore spill response operator in Alaska, and Foss Maritime Company, one of the nation's largest coastal tug and barge operators, have formed a joint venture to together pursue marine services opportunities throughout Alaska. The joint venture, called AES-Foss Marine, LLC, will be headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. The venture will build upon the strengths of each company to provide marine services throughout the state.