Semisub rig owner Dolphin Drilling has terminated the contract with General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) for its Blackford Dolphin rig.
Last month, the two companies reached an agreement regarding past-due payments and the remaining work under the drilling contract for the rig. It was initially supposed to run until the end of March but the payment issues extended it past that date.
Earlier this month, Dolphin Drilling said that it expected a credit loss against sums due from GHL of $42.6m.
Under the agreement between the two, the semisub owner received further payment and the rig continued operations for GHL. The next payment in the plan was due by late April 2024.
As the terms for payment under the agreement have not been met, Dolphin Drilling has, per the agreement, issued a notice of termination to GHL.
Since the Blackford Dolphin has no other contractual obligations, it will now exit Nigeria and be prepared for transit to India to begin work for Oil India Limited.
“[Dolphin] intends to pursue the recovery of sums remaining due by GHL. Any further information will be provided in due course,” the company explained.
This is the second deal terminated in Nigeria for the rig in the past few months with the one difference being that the first one never really started.
The rig was contracted by Peak Petroleum under a $325,000 per day deal. It was terminated soon after the award. The Øystein Stray Spetalen-backed company said at the time that the move followed a continued breach of the contract between the companies.
The driller owns four 4th and 5th-generation enhanced Aker H3 and H4 units. The already mentioned Blackford Dolphin as well as the Borgland Dolphin and two rigs bought from Transocean in a $61.5m deal – the Paul B. Loyd, Jr, and Dolphin Leader.
