UAE-headquartered offshore driller Shelf Drilling has been awarded a contract by Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) for jackup rig Trident 16.

The contract, which is for one year and includes additional options, will see the 1982-built rig operating in the Gulf of Suez, offshore Egypt. The planned start-up of operations is in the first quarter of this year.

Petrobel is a joint venture between Italy’s Eni and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.