Offshore drilling firm Shelf Drilling has secured a two-well contract extension for the Shelf Drilling Fortress jack-up rig.
The rig is on a contract with China's CNOOC, operating in the UK North Sea, at the Golden Eagle offshore oil field.
The firm term of the extension announced Monday is about five months, with a contract value of approximately $18 million.
The expected availability of the rig is now June 2024. The contract includes options for an additional two wells, with a total estimated duration of eight months.
Owned by Shelf Drilling North Sea, a subsidiary of Shelf Drilling, the Shelf Drilling Fortress drilling rig was previously known as Noble Sam Hartley.
In October 2022, Shelf Drilling bought five jack-up drilling rigs Noble Hans Deul, Noble Sam Hartley, Noble Sam Turner, Noble Houston Colbert, and Noble Lloyd Noble, from Noble Corporation for $375 million.
Noble Corporation had to sell the five rigs to alleviate competition concerns in the UK in relation to its merger with Maersk Drilling.