Aberdeen-headquartered decommissioning specialist Well-Safe Solutions has entered a deal to acquire its first ever rig asset, the 1985-built semi-submersible drilling rig Ocean Guardian from Diamond Offshore.
The company plans to invest more than £75m ($100m) on converting the rig for well plugging and abandonment (P&A) jobs.
The price for the deal was not disclosed, with VesselsValue’s valuing the rig at $11.79m.
The contract for upgrading the rig is currently out to tender and the unit is expected to be ready for work by the end of the first quarter of 2020. The upgrades include the installation of a dive system and equipment for deploying a subsea intervention lubricator.
Established in 2017, Well-Safe plans to built up a fleet to focus on the decommissioning industry, plugging and abandoning oil and gas wells.
The company is currently in negotiations for the acquisition of a second semi-submersible asset.
“This is a major milestone in Well-Safe’s journey and one that is in-line with our strategy. It’s great to have The Ocean Guardian, which has a great reputation on which we will build, as our first asset,” said Well-Safe’s executive director Mark Patterson.
