Maersk drillship’s gig with Tullow cut short

Danish offshore drilling contractor Maersk Drilling has received a notification from Tullow Oil of early termination for convenience of the drilling contract for the drillship Maersk Venturer.

Maersk Drilling said in a statement on Tuesday that the drillship Maersk Venturer has been working for Tullow offshore Ghana since February 2018.

The contract, signed in late 2017, was for development drilling on the Jubilee and TEN fields offshore Ghana. It was expected to end in February 2022. However, following Tullow’s early termination decision, the rig is now expected to end the contract in June 2020.

As a consequence of the termination, Maersk Drilling’s revenue contract backlog is reduced by $175 million covering the period from the end of the contract to February 2022.

Subject to commercial prospects, Maersk Drilling said it would take measures to reduce Maersk Venturer’s operating costs following the end of the contract.

Maersk Drilling maintains the profitability guidance for 2020 of EBITDA before special items of $325-375 million.