Northern Offshore Ltd News

Offshore oil and gas drilling firm Northern Offshore Ltd. has reached agreement on the terms of a recommended $165m cash acquisition by Shandong Offshore International Company Limited. The NOK7.59 per share offer by Shandong has been unanimously recommended by the board of directors of NOF and undertakings to accept the offer have been received by approximately 65% of NOF’s shareholders, including Fredriksen’s Geveran Trading. The acquisition price values Northern Offshore's issued share capital at approximately NOK 1.3 billion. The acquisition is expected to become effective during the first half of August 2015. The takeover will see NOF merged with Shandong International Offshore subsidiary Blue Ocean Drilling with, the acquisition expected to become effective the first half of August.

Northern Offshore subsidiary, Northern Offshore International Drilling Company says it has executed a long-term drilling contract with an affiliate of CAMAC Energy Inc. for its drillship 'Energy Searcher'. The contract commits to an initial period of one year, with an option to extend the contact for an additional one-year term. Commencement of drilling activities on the Oyo Field offshore Nigeria is expected during the first half of 2014. The contract value for the first one-year term is just under US$100 million, plus mobilization fees.

Northern Offshore, Ltd. subsidiaries have executed contracts for the construction of two LeTourneau Super 116E Class jackup drilling rigs, with a priced option for the construction of two additional rigs of the same design. Northern Offshore say that the yard contract price is less than US$180 million, with favorable tail-end-heavy payment terms. Delivery of the rigs is expected during the first and third quarters of 2016, respectively. Construction will be carried out by an experienced and well qualified [un-named] Chinese shipyard. Gary W. Casswell, president and chief executive officer of Northern Offshore said, "This is a turning point for our company…

Northern Offshore receives Maersk Oil & Gas notification that rig 'Energy Endeavour' will be released from contract on May 1, 2013. The rig's accommodation unit does not meet new Danish Energy Authority requirements and its replacement is not commercially viable for either party. Gary W. Casswell, Northern Offshore's president and CEO, said, "We sincerely appreciate that Maersk have given us very early notice of release of the Energy Endeavour, as it will allow us approximately six months to re-contract the rig in a very tight market.

Norway's Northern Offshore, Ltd announce that the last two wells of a 4-well program will not be drilled at the present time. The Joint Operating Company Vietgazprom, a joint venture between Petrovietnam and Gazprom, ("VGP") has given notice that the last two wells will not be drilled at present. The second and final well under the current contract is expected to be completed by late September 2012. However, the Company and VGP are currently in discussion to formally suspend the contract to allow for the drilling of the two remaining wells during 2013…

Northern Offshore, Ltd. semi-submersibles Energy Driller and drillship Energy Searcher have commenced operations off Vietnam coast. The Energy Searcher went on dayrate under the contract with the Joint Operating Company Vietgazprom, a joint venture between Petrovietnam and Gazprom, ("VGP") for their drilling program offshore Vietnam on April 6, 2012. The duration is for a four-well program expected to last approximately 100 days per well. The estimated contract value is approximately US$72 million.

Board to expand to eleven from eight; seven New Board Members Join Four Existing Directors; Four Directors Retire. Horizon Lines, a domestic ocean shipping company, today announced that it will expand its Board of Directors to 11 members from eight, effective November 25, 2011. In conjunction with the expansion, seven new directors will be appointed and four of the existing eight directors will retire. • Jeffrey A. Brodsky, Kurt M. Cellar, Carol B. Hallett, James LaChance, Steven L. Rubin, Martin Tuchman and David N. Weinstein will join the board as independent directors.

Northern Offshore, Ltd., operator of production and drilling vessels for the global offshore oil and gas industry, won a contract from Maersk for the jackup Energy Enhancer. The contract, worth in excess of £20million will see the Energy Enhancer work in the Danish sector of the North Sea for one year, commencing early 2012. Maersk has options to extend the contract for up to three further years. John Monks, managing director of Northern Offshore Ltd, said: “We are very pleased…

Northern Offshore, Ltd (“Northern Offshore”), operator of production and drilling vessels for the global offshore oil and gas industry, will be presented with a major safety accolade at the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards, later this year. The company’s Energy Enhancer – a jack up rig designed specifically for harsh environments like those found in the North Sea – has been recognised with a Gold award as a result of Northern Offshore’s commitment to striving for continuous improvement in HSE standards.

Northern Offshore Ltd., a Bermuda holding company which operates offshore oil and gas production and drilling vessels, said that the company's drillship Energy Searcher has resumed operations in under its drilling contract with Vietgazprom, according to a report on Trading Markets.com This follows repair work on the drillship, carried out in at an estimated cost of some $4.6m.  (Source: Trading Markets.com)

Northern Offshore, Ltd. (Oslo Bors: NOF.OL) reported net income for the three months ended March 31, 2010 of US$23.2 million, or US$0.15 per diluted share, on revenues of US$68.1 million. This compares to net income of US$3.6 million, or US$0.02 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2009, on revenues of US$56.6 million. Net income for the prior year quarter included a US$3.7 million charge to bad debt expense. Excluding that charge, first quarter 2009 net income would have been US$7.3 million, or US$0.05 per diluted share. Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2010 increased US$11.5 million compared to the same period of 2009.

Northern Offshore, Ltd. (Oslo Bors: NOF.OL) reported on May 5 that upon completion of the third well of a five-well drilling program for VietGazprom offshore Vietnam, the drillship Energy Searcher underwent an inspection that identified repairs needed to the ship's hull prior to the rig returning to drilling operations. The company intends to move the rig to Singapore to make the necessary repairs. Although preliminary and subject to further inspection in the shipyard, the company estimates downtime for the rig of at least six to eight weeks, including transit to and from the yard. Cost estimates will be prepared once the final scope of work has been defined.

Northern Offshore, Ltd. (Oslo Bors: NOF.OL) announced that its subsidiary, Northern Offshore U.K. Ltd, was awarded a contract with Caspian Drilling Company Limited (CDC) for the provision of support services for drilling operations in the Caspian Sea. The contract runs to July 2011 and has an estimated value of approximately $21m, comprised of fees for technical and operational support in management of the Dada Gorgud semisubmersible drilling rig. Any direct costs incurred in providing the services will be reimbursed. CDC is a subsidiary of The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). The drilling operations will take place on acreage operated by BP, on behalf of a consortium consisting of BP, Chevron, SOCAR, INPEX, StatoilHydro, ExxonMobil, TPAO, Devon, ITOCHU and Hess.

Northern Offshore, Ltd. (Oslo Bors: NOF.OL) announced that its subsidiary, Northern Offshore U.K. Ltd., has completed its 120 day drilling contract offshore Greece utilizing the jackup rig Energy Exerter. The company said that the rig was under tow to a location offshore Malta where it would be cold stacked until drilling opportunities in the Mediterranean Sea improve. The drilling contract for the work offshore Greece included a requirement that the operator provide a letter of credit in Northern's favor in the amount of $4.6m, representing approximately five weeks of dayrate. The company said that it had drawn the full amount of the…

The Board of Northern Offshore met on May 13th to discuss the company's financial situation. As stated in the company's fourth quarter report the company will need additional financing in order to meet its required short term principal and interest obligations. Total scheduled payments during the next three months include $ 7 million in U.S. Bond interest, $ 11 million in scheduled repayment of the Avalon debt financing, and $ 17 million in repayment of two different loans related to the Energy Searcher. A portion of the payment obligation under the Avalon loan and one of the Energy Searcher loans are already past due, but the Board has negotiated a short-term extension of these repayment obligations. The company currently has a cash position of approximately $ 4 million.