Shelf completes rig deal with Diamond

Offshore driller Shelf Drilling has completed the purchase of the Ocean Scepter jack-up rig from Diamond Offshore. 

Shelf entered into a definitive agreement with Diamond to purchase the Ocean Scepter rig for $90 million in early July.

Shelf informed on Friday, July 27 that its wholly owned subsidiary has completed the purchase and acceptance of the jack-up rig. Following the closure of this deal, Shelf’s total shallow water rig count increased from 39 rigs to 40 rigs.

Shelf Drilling has financed the acquisition with proceeds from the Initial Public Offering (IPO) completed in June this year, and cash on hand.

The rig has been renamed Shelf Drilling Scepter and is expected to be mobilized shortly from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on a dry tow carrier to the Middle East.

The Ocean Scepter rig was built in 2008 and is of a KFELS Mod Super B design.