Offshore drilling company Rowan has said that it has reached an agreement with Freeport-McMoRan over the contract termination for drillship Rowan Relentless.
.Freeport-McMoRan chartered the drillship in June 2015 and the contract was due to expire in June 2017, but will now pay $215m in cash to settle outstanding receivables and terminate the contract.
Rowan will warm stack the rig, and may also receive additional contingent payments from Freeport-McMoRan of $10m and $20m, respectively, depending on the average price of oil over a 12-month period, the company said.
“I am satisfied with this resolution given FMOG did not have any ongoing work for the Rowan Relentless. This accelerated payment provides additional liquidity to further strengthen our balance sheet and affords Rowan added flexibility as we review opportunities in this down market. The Rowan Relentless, our fourth high-specification ultra-deepwater drillship, had outstanding operational performance on this contract, delivering safe, reliable and efficient operations,” said Tom Burke, president & ceo of Rowan.
The contract cancellation follows an agreement between Freeport-McMoRan and Noble Corporation earlier this month to terminate contracts for two other drillships, Noble Sam Croft and Noble Tom Madden.
