Semisub rig owner Dolphin Drilling has terminated a contract with Peak Petroleum in Nigeria for its 1974-built Blackford Dolphin.
The Øystein Stray Spetalen-backed company said the move followed the “continued breach of the contract” between the companies.
The firm contract signed in March, which came after the letter of award in January, was to give the Euronext Growth-listed owner of three rigs the potential to extend the unit’s backlog by a minimum of 120 days and up to 485 days. The deal at $325,000 per day, including mobilisation was meant to be a direct continuation of the previously announced 12-month contract with General Hydrocarbons that expires in the first quarter of 2024.
In October, Dolphin Drilling won the Oil India rig tender for a 14-month firm contract, which includes extension options for seven months. The start-up for the drilling campaign is expected in the second or third quarter of 2024, with the currently smart stacked 1977-built and later upgraded Borgland Dolphin earmarked for the job. Dolphin could potentially now send the Blackford unit to India once it comes off contract with General Hydrocarbons.
Dolphin Drilling owns a fleet of three fourth- and fifth-generation enhanced Aker H3 semis. In June, the company snapped up a pair of Transocean rigs, the 1987-built Paul B Loyd Jr and the Transocean Leader, in a deal worth $61.5m.
