North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. (NADL) and Jurong Shipyard have agreed to form a joint asset holding company for joint ownership of the West Rigel semisubmersible drilling rig, with has seen several delivery delays.
Should no employment be secured for the West Rigel and no alternative transaction is completed, the duo will complete the JV deal that will see the vessel be 23% owned by NADL, and 77% owned by Jurong, NADL said in its Q2 2017 report.
Until the end of the deferral period that was recently extended on 7 July to 6 January 2018, NADL will continue to market the vessel for an acceptable drilling contract. Until then, the West Rigel will remain at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore.
NADL and Jurong may also consider other commercial opportunities for the vessel during this period. However, NADL says that based on current market conditions, management deems the most probable outcome to be that the vessel will be contributed to the joint asset holding company and continue to be marketed for an acceptable drilling contract.
The West Rigel has no future capex and is classified as an asset held for sale, NADL confirmed.
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Jurong, NADL further delay West Rigel delivery