Buyers Reportedly Line-up for a Crack at Seadrill
Noble Corp and a consortium that includes Transocean Ltd and Dolphin Drilling are competing to acquire the assets of Seadrill Ltd, the bankrupt offshore oil driller controlled by Norwegian-born tycoon John Fredriksen, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.Seadrill is trying to emerge from its second U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy in four years: like many in the industry, it expanded its drilling rigs too aggressively in the mid-2010s to withstand a subsequent plunge in energy prices and rig hire rates. It is negotiating a deal to restructure its more than $7 billion debt pile in exchange for handing company control to its creditors.U.S.
Fred. Olsen Energy Proposes to Issue New Equity in Restructuring
Norwegian drillship and rig operator Fred. Olsen Energy, proposes to sell one of its drilling units and to issue $130-140 million in new equity to pay off debt, as part of a refinancing plan published on Tuesday.The proposal includes issuing about $90 million in new loan capital, paying $580 million to settle outstanding secured debt, and converting bond debt into equity.Existing shares of the company will represent approximately one percent of the share capital after the restructuring.The shares, which have fallen 99 percent over the last five years, closed down 25 percent.Last month, Fred.
Keppel Shipyard Wins FPSO Conversion Contract
Even as world energy prices continue to maintain low pricing levels, offshore contracts are there to be won. Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd has secured a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) conversion contract as well as three repair, upgrade and modification contracts worth a total of about S$125 million. The FPSO conversion project Keppel Shipyard will be undertaking is for Armada Madura EPC Limited, a joint venture between long-standing customer Bumi Armada Berhad (Bumi Armada) and Shapoorji Pallonji Group (Shapoorji Pallonji).
Major Oil Rig Contract for Harland and Wolff
In a multi-million pound boost to the Northern Ireland economy, Belfast ship builder Harland and Wolff has secured a contract to carry out major work on an oil rig. Dolphin Drilling Limited has awarded H&W the contract for the drydocking and Renewal/Special Periodic Survey of its Byford Dolphin Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU). H&W Director of ship and offshore unit repair, James Lappin said that this was a significant project for Harland and Wolff and for Northern Ireland. As well as employment opportunities, the supply chain within Northern Ireland will see significant activity in support of the project, he added.
Nautronix to Supply DPR System for Dolphin Drilling Rig
Nautronix has secured an order from HHI, Korea to supply a NASNet Dynamic Positioning Reference (DPR ) System which will be used on the Bollsta Dolphin drilling rig. NASNet DPR is a position reference system for Dynamic Positioning that also features the benefits of the NASNet subsea acoustic positioning system and can be used either within pre-installed field-wide NASNet arrays, or as a localized positioning system. According to Nautronix, the system provides robust mitigation against many of the risks associated with both acoustic and satellite positioning systems…
