Houston-based Diamond Offshore Drilling has received a verbal termination notice from Apache Beryl I (Apache) for the semisub rig Ocean Patriot.
.The New York-listed company said Apache had the option to terminate the drilling contract which will last until at least July 2023.
Diamond Offshore had previously expected the contract, which originally commenced in 2017 and was most recently extended in 2021, to conclude in September 2024.
According to the contract, upon cancellation Apache is obligated to pay an early termination fee of $12.5m. Diamond Offshore said it would market the 1983-built rig for new projects.
