North Atlantic Drilling in another ‘West Rigel’ delay

Drilling contractor North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. (NADL) has once again postponed the delivery of a newbuild drilling unit West Rigel ordered at Sembcorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard. 

In addition to several previous delays, the latest one being announced in October 2016, NADL on Monday announced a standstill agreement and subsequent amendments to defer delivery of the semi-submersible West Rigel.

The company agreed an amendment with Jurong Shipyard, which extends the delivery deferral period to July 6, 2017. The previous delay set the date for delivery of the rig for January 6, 2017.

The latest extension allows the parties to continue to explore commercial opportunities for the unit. The rig will remain at Jurong’s yard in Singapore during this period.

As previously agreed, in the event no employment is secured for the unit and no alternative transaction is completed, the company and Jurong will form a joint asset holding company for joint ownership of the unit, to be owned 23% by NADL and 77% by Jurong.

West Rigel is a 6th generation semi-submersible drilling rig. The design is based on Moss Maritime CS60. It is designed to work in both benign and harsh environments and winterized for work in cold climate.