Serious regulation breaches connected to Shelf Drilling rig’s cyber security come to light

UAE-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling (SHLF) has now received an order from the Norwegian offshore safety regulator after a probe into the management of data security risks for industrial ICT systems on board one of its jack-up rigs working off the coast of Norway.

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has issued an order to Shelf Drilling, following its audit, conducted from January 27 to 31, 2025, to look into the management of data security risks for industrial ICT systems on board the Shelf Drilling Barsk rig.

The objective of the audit was to verify the rig owner’s management of the data security risks for the industrial ICT systems featured on its jack-up, which is on an assignment with Equinor on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

Since the audit identified serious breaches of the regulations, the offshore safety watchdog has issued an order to Shelf Drilling concerning the requirements for the industrial ICT systems, setting the deadline for compliance to June 2, 2025.

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority handed out an acknowledgment of compliance (AoC) for the Shelf Drilling Barsk jack-up rig in October 2024, enabling the UAE player to start its two-well work with Equinor at the Sleipner Vest field, which is located in blocks 15/6 and 15/9.

Discovered in 1974, the field, which started gas and condensate production in August 1996, is developed with two platforms: Sleipner T and Sleipner B. The Alfa Nord satellite field was tied back to the Sleipner T platform as part of the development.

In addition, a two-well extension with an estimated duration of 254 days and options for three wells at the Gudrun field was handed to the jack-up by the Norwegian energy heavyweight in April 2024. The rig features the GustoMSC CJ70-X150-ST design and can accommodate 140 people.

The 2016-built Shelf Drilling Barsk, formerly Noble Lloyd Noble, 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.

Recently, TotalEnergies shortened a drilling assignment in Denmark, which a different jack-up in the UAE player’s rig fleet was hired to undertake.