Two Shelf Drilling rigs come to West Africa as another one spins the drill bit in Europe

UAE-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling (SHLF) has shed more light on the latest developments across its rig fleet, confirming the arrival of two jack-ups in West Africa and the start of drilling work in Norwegian waters for another unit.

Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s energy giant, ended up suspending operations in Q2 2024 and Q3 2024 for five of Shelf Drilling’s rigs in Saudi Arabia, including Main Pass I, Main Pass IV, Shelf Drilling Achiever, Shelf Drilling Victory, and Harvey Ward.

After buying a jack-up rig from India’s Aban Offshore under the name Deep Driller 7 and changing its name to Shelf Drilling Victory upon delivery, Shelf Drilling announced a five-year assignment for the rig in the Arabian Gulf.

After Aramco suspended the rig’s assignment in 2024, the unit was to be redeployed to West Africa for new contract opportunities. Built in 2008, the rig, which is of a Baker Marine Pacific Class 375 design, is capable of operating in water depths of up to 375 feet (114 meters), and it can accommodate 120 people.

Following a suspension notice from Aramco in the Middle East, Shelf Drilling decided to market the High Island II rig to get other work opportunities and terminate the contract during the suspension period. The company then found work in Nigeria for this rig with OOS.

With a max drilling depth of 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) and the ability to operate in a water depth of 270 feet (82.3 meters), the High Island II jack-up rig features a Marathon LeTourneau 82-SD-C design and can accommodate 99 people. The rig, which was built in 1979, had its last upgrade in 2021.

According to Shelf Drilling, the High Island II and Shelf Drilling Victory rigs arrived in West Africa in April 2025. The first unit is expected to begin a two-well contract in late May 2025. The UAE player’s Shelf Drilling Barsk rig, formerly Noble Lloyd Noble, kicked off drilling operations at Sleipner B in early May 2025, following its role as an accommodation and support unit since November 2024.

The firm term of the contract is expected to run until December 2026, but Equinor has additional option wells thereafter. The 2016-built Shelf Drilling Barsk jack-up rig was bought by Shelf Drilling due to Noble’s efforts to remedy competition concerns related to its merger with Maersk Drilling, which was concluded in 2022.

Meanwhile, the Shelf Drilling Winner rig received a notice of contract termination from TotalEnergies in Denmark, effective in August 2025. The firm sold the Main Pass I rig in Q1 2025 for non-drilling applications. This 1982-built 300-foot jack-up was last upgraded in 2013.

The rig owner has also confirmed the three-month extension with Petrobel in Egypt for the Trident 16 rig. Another one of the firm’s rigs, High Island V, secured a contract extension with Aramco for one month, prolonging the jack-up’s work to July 2025.