ADNOC takes Shelf rig for operations offshore Abu Dhabi

Offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling has received a three-year contract award for the Compact Driller jack-up rig with ADNOC Drilling.

The contract is for operations in the Arabian Gulf, offshore Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Shelf said on Thursday.

It includes two one-year options, and the planned start-up of operations is first half of 2019.

David Mullen, Chief Executive Officer, Shelf Drilling, said: “We are pleased to see the Compact Driller receive this award from ADNOC Drilling.

“Through this award, we capitalize on the years of mutual success with ADNOC Drilling, and further strengthen our leading presence in the Middle East. We are committed to continuing to provide our best-in-class safe and efficient operations with the Compact Driller to ADNOC Drilling.”

The 300-foot jack-up rig Compact Driller is of a Marathon LeTourneau 116-C design built in 1992. The rig’s last upgrade was in 2013 performed by Unithai Shipyard.

Back in November, Shelf Drilling said there were indications across the markets of improving demand for jack-up rig services.

When it comes to dayrates, Shelf also said it believed that dayrates and utilization would recover more quickly for jack-up rigs than deepwater rigs due to the lower breakeven prices and shorter cycle times for many workover and development programs in shallow water basins.

Despite this, Shelf said that price competition among jack-up rig contractors continued to be intense and market dayrates remained at historically low levels.

Shelf admitted that there might be some continued challenges in the near term. However, the company noted an increase in marketing and tendering activity in the Middle East and West Africa.

Offshore Energy Today Staff