Dolphin Drilling rig’s journey to India nearing the finish line

Norway-headquartered offshore drilling contractor Dolphin Drilling has revealed that one of its semi-submersible rigs is heading down the home stretch to India, where it will begin its new drilling campaign.

Following the submission of a bank guarantee concerning the arbitration process stemming from Dolphin Drilling’s termination of the Blackford Dolphin rig’s contract with Lagos-based General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) and the request to pursue the recovery of sums remaining due by GHL, the rig left Nigerian waters on July 1, 2024, to move to India, where it will start its drilling campaign with Oil India.

The rig owner confirmed later that same month that the semi-sub was making its way to Asia to kick off its new drilling campaign off the coast of India after it moved away from Nigerian waters. In its most recent update on the Blackford Dolphin rig’s movements, Dolphin Drilling confirmed the semi-sub’s departure from Port Louis, Mauritius, which occurred on Friday, September 13, after the second scheduled stop on its 7,720-nautical-mile (nm) journey between Nigeria and the Andaman Islands, India.

With 2,903 nm left to go, the Blackford Dolphin rig is on the last leg of her journey to Port Blair to commence operations with Oil India, according to the Norwegian offshore drilling player. The semi-sub’s three-well drilling program in India is expected to take 14 months, bringing a firm value of $154 million for the rig and associated services.

The contract also entails an optional period of seven months, which Oil India can use to prolong the rig’s stay. The 1974-built Blackford Dolphin is a semi-submersible drilling rig of an enhanced Aker H-3 design and can accommodate 120 people. 

Dolphin Drilling, which is taking steps to optimize its fleet, recently sent one of its rigs to Las Palmas for reactivation ahead of work in the UK while deciding to sell another for recycling.