Danish offshore drilling company Maersk Drilling has sold the jack-up rig Maersk Guardian to New Fortress Energy. The two firms have also signed a deal for the sale of the jack-up rig Mærsk Gallant with anticipated closing in June 2021.
The total sales price for the two rigs is USD 31m in all-cash transactions, Maersk Drilling said, adding that New Fortress Energy would use the two jack-ups for non-drilling purposes as part of its planned Fast LNG project.
Maersk Drilling CEO Jørn Madsen said the rig sales would contribute to the necessary rationalization of the global drilling rig fleet.
Madsen said that the divestments were in line with Maersk Drilling’s strategic priority of maintaining a fleet of modern, high-quality assets.
"We’re also pleased that the rigs will be re-purposed and deployed by New Fortress Energy for a project which focuses on providing low-carbon affordable energy,” said the CEO.
The Maersk Guardian, now renamed Guardian, is an ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig that has previously been converted into an accommodation unit. It was delivered in 1986 and has been warm-stacked in Esbjerg, Denmark after ending its latest contract offshore Denmark in 2020.
Mærsk Gallant is an ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig that was delivered in 1993. It is currently cold-stacked in Dundee, UK after ending its latest contract offshore the UK in 2017.
After both transactions are closed, Maersk Drilling’s fleet will count twelve jack-up rigs, eleven of which are suitable for operations in harsh environments, and eight floaters.