Shelf Drilling wins $54m jackup deal in UK North Sea

Oslo-listed jackup rig pure-play Shelf Drilling has won a deal for one of its rigs with an unnamed operator in the UK.

The offshore driller won a contract for its Shelf Drilling Fortress jackup for operations in the UK Continental Shelf.

According to the company, the estimated duration of the contract is 400 days with a contract value of approximately $54m. The planned start-up of operations is August 2024 in direct continuation of the rig’s current contract.

Since it was said that the deal would be a direct continuation of the current deal, it is worth saying that the rig is currently working with CNOOC and its deal is supposed to end in June 2024. The jackup – formerly known as the Noble Sam Hartley – won the initial deal with the company back in August last year.

The two-well deal on the Golden Eagle platform in the UK Central North Sea had options for additional wells with a total estimated duration of 13 months. It was extended in October for two more wells with another two remaining as options.

About a month ago, Shelf Drilling received a notice of suspension of operations from Saudi Aramco for four of nine rigs contracted to the Saudi giant.