Middle EastOffshore

National Drilling Company of Abu Dhabi extends and adds rig options

National Drilling Company of Abu Dhabi (NDC) has agreed with its yard Lamprell to extend its existing options on jack-up drilling rigs and add an option for another.

The existing options were originally due to expire in the third quarter 2015 but have been extended for a second time to expire during the first quarter of 2016.

“The group continues to view its exposure to the Middle East region as an important factor in its current and near-term business performance, and is targeting a number of major regional projects for conversion into backlog,” UAE-based Lamprell said today in a release.

In April, NDC exercised one of its existing options for a ninth “high-specification” jack-up drilling rig from Lamprell. Delivery is scheduled for the second quarter 2017.

NDC’s nine jack-up rigs have all been built to the LeTourneau Super 116E Class design and constructed at Lamprell’s facility in Hamriyah, UAE. The independent leg cantilever rigs are able to drill to 30,000 feet in water depths of up to 200 feet.

The yard has so far delivered eight jack-up drilling rigs to NDC. The most recent was Butinah, which in May left Hamriyah and was delivered to its drilling location in the Zakum Field off Abu Dhabi.

Holly Birkett

Holly is Splash's Online Editor and correspondent for the UK and Mediterranean. She has been a maritime journalist since 2010, and has written for and edited several trade publications. She is currently studying for membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. In 2013, Holly won the Seahorse Club's Social Media Journalist of the Year award. She is currently based in London.
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