George Economou’s offshore driller Ocean Rig has reached an agreement with South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries to postpone delivery of its newbuilding drillship Ocean Rig Santorini.
Under the agreement, the parties have agreed to postpone the delivery of the rig from June this year to September 2019, while Ocean Rig has options to further delay the delivery.
“With oil prices increasing to above $70 per barrel, the agreed terms provide substantial optionality and leverage to a market that is expected to be improving when the rig delivers,” said Pankaj Khanna, president and CEO of Ocean Rig.
In February, Ocean Rig cancelled a $702m drillship contract at Samsung Heavy Industries. Currently it has two newbuildings under construction at the yard.
