Offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling has received a notice of suspension for its High Island IV jack-up rig from Saudi Aramco.
The suspension is for up to one year, according to Shelf Drilling, which added it has the right to market the rig during the suspension.
The suspension is expected to begin in late November 2024.
High Island IV jack-up is of Marathon LeTourneau 82-SD-C design, built in 1980 and upgraded in 2021. It can operate at maximum water depths of 270 ft.
The jack-up rig, built in 1980, has worked for Saudi Aramco for years, and under the contract signed in February 2020, it was expected to stay with the Saudi oil company until Jul 2031.
This follows the notice of suspension of operations of four jack-up rigs Shelf Drilling received from Saudi Aramco in April 2024.
To remind, Saudi Aramco Another issued similar suspension notice on November 19, 2024, for Borr Drilling’s jack-up rig Arabia II.
Borr Drilling was also one of the six offshore drilling companies that received suspension notices from Saudi Aramco for the shared total of 18 drilling rigs earlier in 2024.