Shelf Drilling finds work for two jack-up rigs in Italy

Offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling has secured long-term deals for two jack-up rigs with Italy’s energy giant Eni for operations in the Adriatic Sea off Italy.

Shelf Drilling announced a three-year contract for the Shelf Drilling Resourceful jack-up rig and a two-year contract for the Key Manhattan jack-up rig on Wednesday. Thanks to this, both rigs are expected to carry out operations for Eni in the Adriatic Sea offshore Italy.

The drilling contractor explaines that these deals include multiple additional extension option periods. The Shelf Drilling Resourceful rig is scheduled to start work in Q2 2023, while the Key Manhattan rig is anticipated to kick off its new gig in Q4 2023.

David Mullen, Chief Executive Officer of Shelf Drilling, remarked: “We are very pleased to build on our long-standing business partnership with Eni and expand our activity in the Adriatic Sea with these two contract awards.

“The Shelf Drilling Resourceful will work alongside the Key Manhattan rig which has delivered exceptional safety and operating performance to Eni since activity commencement in 2010. We believe that our unique operating platform and best in class safety and operating performance strongly positions us to reap the benefits of an improving macro environment.”

The 2008-built Shelf Drilling Resourceful jack-up rig is of a LeTourneau Super 116-C design. It had an upgrade in 2017. This rig is capable of operating in water depths of up to 350 ft and can accommodate 118 people.

On the other hand, the 1980-built Key Manhattan jack-up rig had an upgrade in 2010. It is of a Marathon LeTourneau 116-C design and can accommodate 101 people. This rig can operate in water depths of up to 350 ft. Eni extended the rig’s previous deal in December 2021.

Over the past few months, Shelf Drilling has been busy winning new deals and extending existing ones for its rig fleet. The most recent contract extension for work in Angola was obtained in late November 2022. This follows a five-year deal for operations in the Arabian Gulf.