Dolphin Drilling: GHL cash-and-rig proposal ‘encouraging’ but settlement offer falls short

August 28, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Dolphin Drilling, an Oslo-listed, Aberdeen-headquartered owner and operator of a fleet of harsh-environment mid-water and deepwater semi-submersible drilling rigs, has received a proposal from Lagos-based General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) to resolve their long-running arbitration dispute through a combination of cash and potential deployment of its rig in Nigeria.

Blackford Dolphin rig; Source: Dolphin Drilling

The rigmarole saga, which was set in motion by Dolphin Drilling’s termination of the Blackford Dolphin rig’s contract with the Lagos-based firm and the request for arbitration to pursue the recovery of sums remaining due by GHL, brought an outcome that saw Nigeria’s Federal High Court of Lagos issue an order on July 14, 2025, granting the rig owner leave to enforce the arbitration award.

As a result, the company confirmed approximately $105 million as the total sum due under the arbitration award, alongside its determination to keep pursuing collection efforts. After the rig owner managed to secure the lifting of the ex parte order of arrestment, which was in force against its rig, the offshore drilling player had to tackle the Nigerian court proceedings to oppose claims made by Technova Africa International (Technova).

In an update on the arbitration award against General Hydrocarbons Limited, which was released on Friday, August 28, 2026, Dolphin Drilling disclosed that GHL approached the company with a non-binding, indicative proposal for an amicable solution in respect of the settlement of the arbitration award. This proposal involves a potential deployment of the Blackford Dolphin rig in Nigeria, combined with cash settlement of a portion of the amount awarded under the arbitration award.

While the rig owner considers GHL’s decision to initiate contact as a positive development, it emphasized: “Although the proposal as presented does not meet Dolphin’s requirements, the starting point is encouraging from a settlement point of view and company is prepared to engage constructively with GHL in respect of any proposal that is capable of delivering a commercially sound outcome for Dolphin, all relevant factors taken into consideration.”

According to Dolphin Drilling, there can be no assurance or guarantee that any discussions will start or, even if they do, that they will progress or result in any agreement and the same applies to the terms, structure, consideration, and timing of any such agreement.

“The timing and outcome of any process remain highly uncertain. Regardless of any such discussions, Dolphin will continue to pursue collection efforts in respect of its unsecured claim,” underlined the Aberdeen-headquartered rig owner.

The 1974-built Blackford Dolphin semi-submersible drilling rig, with an enhanced Aker H-3 design, can accommodate 120 people. The unit embarked on its 14-month hydrocarbon exploration campaign with Oil India in November 2024.

This job has been extended more than once, with the latest extension keeping the rig busy in the Asian country until mid-October 2026.