Offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling has received a suspension notice for one of its jack-up drilling rigs.
Shelf Drilling said on Monday that an undisclosed customer sent the suspension notice for the Main Pass I jack-up rig.
According to the company, the operations of the Main Pass I would be suspended for a period of up to 12 months.
“ The foregoing suspension at zero dayrate is effective October 2020 and will automatically extend the term of the contract for a period equal to the suspension period ”, Shelf Drilling said.
Although the customer was not stated, the 1982- built Friede & Goldman L-780-MOD II design rig – upgraded in 2013 – is on a ten-year deal with Saudi Aramco.
The contract, based on an annual rate adjustment linked to the Brent oil price, started in February 2020 following an extension won in December 2019.
As per the company’s most recent fleet status report released in August, Shelf Drilling has seven offshore drilling rigs on a contract with Saudi Aramco.
Over the past several months , Shelf Drilling received several of its rig contracts suspended and one terminated early while another termination has been rescinded.
Namely, Petrobel has rescinded its previous early contract termination for the Trident 16 jack-up, while the High Island IV jack-up received a notice of suspension of operations from Saudi Aramco at a zero-day rate for up to 12 months beginning late June 2020.
Also, the Key Manhattan is expected to remain suspended at a reduced rate through year-end 2020 and the Trident VIII rig received early-termination notice from Amni in Nigeria and the contract end date was updated to July 2020.
The Baltic jack-up operations for Total in Nigeria were suspended beginning in early July 2020. The contract end date is set for December 2020.
Ever since the coronavirus crisis started and the oil price dropped offshore drillers have been getting early contract terminations for their rigs and Shelf Drilling is no different. On top of the above listed, Shelf got three contract terminations for its drilling contracts by early April.