Shelf Drilling, an Oslo-listed offshore drilling services firm, has obtained a two-year contract extension for the Noble Sam Turner jack-up rig, which is a direct continuation of its present contract in Denmark.
The contract has been secured by way of a priced option exercise by the customer. The contract extension is worth around $68 million, and the rig is now expected to be busy until March 2025.
The rig will be renamed Shelf Drilling Winner upon completion of the official renaming process in early 2023, Shelf Drilling said.
Worth noting, the contract extension announcement comes just hours after Shelf Drilling completed the acquisition of the Noble Sam Turner and four other jack-up rigs from Noble Corp. for $375 million.
Noble had to sell the five rigs to alleviate competition concerns in the UK in relation to its merger with Maersk Drilling.
Apart from Noble Sam Turner, Shelf Drilling bought the Noble Hans Deul, Noble Sam Hartley, Noble Houston Colbert, and Noble Lloyd Noble jack-up rigs.
As for the new rig contract extension, Shelf Drilling did not say who the client was. However, information previously disclosed by the former owner Noble Corp. indicates that the client is TotalEnergies.