Rig Operator News

Seatankers, the powerful holding company of Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen, said on Thursday it had hired a veteran fund manager to broaden the group’s portfolio and bring in outside capital in a new unit.Vegard Soeraunet, until recently an investment director at Norway’s ODIN Fund Management, will be in charge of “long-term and active ownership” outside of Seatankers’s shipping and offshore oil services industries, the company said.“Getting the opportunity to take this to the next level with a new structure under Seatankers, is a great opportunity,” Soeraunet said in a statement.It was the second key appointment at Seatankers in recent days following the August 28 naming of a hedge fund manager as its new chief executive.While Fredriksen initially built his fortune from shippi

Norwegian oil and gas rig operator Dolphin Drilling filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, leading creditors to seize its key assets in a restructuring that will see the company maintain operations.Formerly known as Fred. Olsen Energy, Dolphin Drilling ASA had debt of just over $1 billion at the end of 2018 and a net loss for the year of almost $300 million, its annual report shows.Once a dominant supplier of drilling rigs to oil and gas firms exploring the North Sea, Dolphin was…

Singapore's Keppel FELS has delivered the jackup rig, Cantarell IV, to Grupo R with a perfect safety record.The wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) said that as part of the deal, Grupo R has entered into a sale and leaseback agreement with FELS Asset, another wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel O&M.FELS Asset will purchase the rig from Grupo R for US$179m which is equivalent to the balance contract value of the rig. Cantarell IV will be leased back to Grupo R on a bareboat charter at competitive day rates over five years. IPC, the parent company of Grupo R, will provide a Parent Company Guarantee on Grupo R's charter payment obligations.Under the bareboat charter…

Norwegian drillship and rig operator Fred. Olsen Energy, owner of the yard that built the RMS Titanic, is considering a debt and equity restructuring that would almost wipe out the value of its current shares, the company said.With debt and liabilities of more than $840 million at the end of June, Fred. Olsen last month stopped paying its creditors to preserve liquidity, making it the latest victim of a slow recovery in the oil and gas exploration sector.The owner of seven drillships and rigs, as well as Belfast's Harland & Wolff yard, has now received indicative, non-binding proposals from equity investors valuing its current shares and bonds at just $10 million…

Offshore rig firm Borr Drilling, controlled by Norwegian investor Tor Olav Troeim, is proposing to buy its rival Paragon Offshore for $232.5 million in a push to consolidate the fragmented rig market, it said on Thursday. A plunge in oil prices in 2014 forced oil firms to cut back on offshore exploration, reducing demand for drilling rigs at a time when new rigs ordered during the boom years were entering the market, pushing rates down to, or below, operating costs. Borr said it was likely to scrap 21 older jack-up rigs…

Rig firm Seadrill, which last year filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court, is working towards a comprehensive deal with all its creditors that could be concluded this week, it said in a court filing late on Friday. Once the largest drilling rig operator by market value, Oslo-listed Seadrill filed its bankruptcy case in Texas on Sept. 12 after being hit hard by cutbacks in oil company investment following a steep drop in crude prices. The company, controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen…

Drilling rig company Seadrill said in a court filing it postponed an initial hearing on its restructuring plan to Feb. 7, which sources told Reuters will give the company more time to consider alternative restructuring plans. Once the largest drilling rig operator by market value, Seadrill filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas on Sept. 12 after being hit hard by cutbacks in oil company investment following a steep drop in crude prices. Wednesday's court filing also said the deadline for objecting to Seadrill's plan had been extended to Feb.

Owners of unsecured bonds in rig firm Seadrill have posted a cash deposit to back an alternative financial restructuring, paving the way for talks with the drilling operator over its future, the two sides said on Monday. Seadrill, once the largest drilling rig operator by market value, filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court on Sept. 12 after being hit hard by cutbacks in oil company investment following a steep drop in crude prices. The company's main owner, Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen…

Drilling rig firm Seadrill confirmed on Wednesday it had received two rival bids for its debt restructuring from unsecured bondholders. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 restructuring in a U.S. court on Sept. 12, has sought alternative proposals for the plan put forward by its main owner, Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen and a group of hedge funds. "We have received two alternative bids from unsecured bondholders ... We are evaluating these bids and are in active dialogue with the bidders," the company said in an emailed statement.

An unofficial committee of Seadrill's unsecured bondholders has submitted a binding alternative proposal for the company's restructuring, two sources familiar with the proposal told Reuters on Tuesday. Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen and a group of hedge funds proposed on Sept. 12 to invest $1.06 billion via new equity and secured debt to restructure indebted Seadrill, once the largest drilling rig operator by market value. "Total investments (in the alternative plan) are on par with the official restructuring proposal, but it's not a copy paste.

Offshore and marine operators of electrochlorination-based marine growth prevention systems are set to benefit from a new maintenance and service initiative from the world’s leader in the market:  Evoqua Water Technologies. Bringing together more than 100 years of water treatment expertise from a number of the company’s brands and divisions, Evoqua Electrochlorination Services (EES) has been established to provide a total after-sales service solution for all electrochlorination marine growth prevention systems (MGPS), regardless of the manufacturer or design.

BP has criticized the new "Deepwater Horizon" film as being an inaccurate Hollywood dramatization of the deadly oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. "The Deepwater Horizon movie is Hollywood's take on a tragic and complex accident. It is not an accurate portrayal of the events that led to the accident, our people, or the character of our company," the British oil and gas company said in a statement on its website. "Deepwater Horizon," which is released in the United States on Friday…

Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) reports that it has delivered its first liftboat unit, Al Safliya, to Qatari rig operator Gulf Drilling International (GDI). Al Safliya is the first liftboat to be wholly constructed in Qatar at the Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma shipyard The self-propelled and elevating unit has been customized for operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in water depths of up to 65m. “GDI is pleased with the quality delivered by N-KOM for the liftboat Al Safliya," said Mubarak Al Hajri, the MD & CEO of GDI.

A Chinese oil rig whose deployment to waters claimed by Vietnam early this month triggered a rupture in ties has a good chance of finding enough gas to put the area into production, Chinese industry experts said. That would give China its first viable energy field in the disputed South China Sea, as well as make it a source of friction with Hanoi for years to come. For now, China has said nothing about the potential of the area. The first round of drilling had been completed, the rig operator said on Tuesday, without giving any results from the tapped wells. The $1 billion deepwater rig owned by state-run China National Offshore Oil Company Group (CNOOC Group), parent of flagship unit CNOOC Ltd, is scheduled to explore until mid-August.

Norwegian offshore oil rig operator Fred. Olsen Energy said that recent market activity is indicating lower rig rates and shorter term contracts, and this market softness could last into 2015. "The most recent market fixtures are indicating some softening of rates and an acceptance of shorter term contracts," it said in it annual report on Wednesday. "It is expected that these market conditions will continue through 2014 and possibly into 2015." "The UK and Norwegian markets are expected to experience a more limited impact of the recent slowdown, partly because demand is relatively robust but also because a large proportion of the fleet is contracted on a multi-year basis," it added.   Reporting by Balazs Koranyi

According to a report from the Associated Press, the end of the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf has lifted the stocks of companies that operate the offshore oil and gas drilling rigs. Shares of Transocean, Diamond Offshore and Ensco all gained more than three percent on Tuesday, Oct. 12, the report said. (Source: The Associated Press)

Aker Solutions received a Letter of Award from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), to supply two drilling equipment packages to the new 'Cat D' drilling rigs the yard is building for the rig operator Songa Offshore. Options (if exercised) for two additional units are included. Contract value is undisclosed. The development of the two Cat D semi-submersible drilling rigs has been initiated by Statoil, the international energy company, which awarded two long-term contracts for the units to Songa in July 2011. The first two units will be delivered in 2014, and the main deliveries from Aker Solutions will take place in 2012 and 2013. The contract includes topside drilling equipment, procurement and commissioning of the rigs at the DSME yard.

Autoship Systems Corporation (ASC) said its new Autoload-Rig and Autoload 6.0 programs have enjoyed significant early sales. M/T Seraya Spirit of Teekay Shipping Ltd. industry, including a completely new interface developed from rig operator recommendations. vessels as well – and thus “Autoload 6.0” followed soon after. flexibility. accurate damage simulation). direction – it calculates real shift of free surface in slack tanks according to any change in heel or trim. separate view frame monitors the actual maxVCG curve relative to the current condition (draft/vcg). Real-time sensor data is used for tank contents, drafts, and wind. taken for mooring and riser tension, while different criteria are used for different modes of operation.

Drilling-rig operator Hercules Offshore Inc said Indian state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd awarded three-year contracts for two jackup rigs for drilling operations in offshore India. Houston-based Hercules Offshore expects revenue of about $121m for jackup rig Hercules 258 and about $156.6 million for Hercules 260, which excludes payment to the company of reimbursable expenses and a total of about $6.5 million for mobilization of both rigs.

Aker Solutions has received a Letter of Award from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), to supply a further two drilling equipment packages to the 'Category D' drilling rigs the yard is building for the rig operator Songa Offshore. The contract value is undisclosed. The development of the Cat D semi-submersible drilling rigs has been initiated by Statoil, the international energy company. The Cat D drilling rig is a new generation drilling and well intervention vessel, purposely made for the needs for North Sea operations. The first contract, for two drilling equipment packages, was announced in the summer of 2011. Now, the customers have exercised options for another two equipment packages. The two units will be delivered in 2015.

Aker Solutions has received a Letter of Award from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), to supply a further two drilling equipment packages to the 'Category D' drilling rigs the yard is building for the rig operator Songa Offshore. Contract value is undisclosed. The development of the Cat D semi-submersible drilling rigs has been initiated by Statoil, the international energy company. The Cat D drilling rig is a new generation drilling and well intervention vessel, purpose made for the needs for North Sea operations.

An offshore drilling platform, operated for Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras , was partially evacuated after tilting on Friday, but there was no risk of it sinking, the company and the local oil workers' union said on Friday. Crew members were evacuated to another rig after the SS-53 platform, located in the Campos oil basin off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, began to list at about 0100 local time (0400 GMT) Friday, a spokeswoman from the Sindipetro-NF oil workers' union said. The platform had been stabilized and safety measures were being taken, said a Petrobras spokeswoman who declined to give further details. The union spokeswoman also said the rig had been stabilized.

Viking Offshore & Marine Limited has announced it would participate in the ownership of a second cantilever drilling jack-up rig, further strengthening its partnership with Singapore rig veteran, Chan Kwan Bian as it accelerates its entry into mainstream offshore rig chartering. SGX Catalist-listed Viking said its wholly-owned Viking Asset Management Pte. Ltd. (VAM) will invest US$5.4 million to take a 30%-stake in Quick Booms Investments Limited (“QBI”), a special purpose vehicle controlled by Chan which has a contract with a yard to build the CJ46-X100-D GustoMSC designed for use in water depth up to 375 feet and can accommodate 120 men during operation.