Norway, Cyprus-based drilling contractor Songa Offshore has taken delivery of its third Cat D drilling rig from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea.
The Songa Encourage follows delivery of the Songa Equinox and the Songa Endurance earlier this year. The Songa Enabler, now due early 2016, will be the fourth and final rig delivered.
Songa Encourage, is now set to start the approximate 90-day voyage from the yard to Norway, where it will carry out work for Statoil at the Aasgard, Norne and Heidrun fields in the Norwegian Sea.
All four are DP3 or moored harsh environment semisubmersibles designed for efficient year-round drilling, completion, testing and intervention operations. They are equipped for up to 500m water depth with a design which allows for future deepwater and arctic operations through minor upgrades.
Statoil ordered the Cat D rigs at a time when rig capacity was tight and rig rates high on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and across the North Sea. Today, rigs have been stacked or have left the basin as demand has plummeted due to low oil prices. Indeed, Statoil has cancelled other contracts with Songa for use of older rigs.
Statoil's award for the first two Cat D rigs was made in 2011, with delivery originally scheduled for 2014, with firm terms of eight years each and with options that could extend this period to 20 years. The second order for two more was signed in 2012, with delivery originally scheduled for early 2015.
DSME has suffered “significant delays” and overruns on the construction contrcats. Songa's COO Mark Bessell was moved to Korea to head the project team to keep the remaining construction progress on track.
DSME has recently delivered notices of arbitration regarding the construction contracts for the Cat D rigs, attempting to recoup costs over the delays. Songa has said any attempt by DSME to recover cost overruns was "of no merit."
"We are pleased to take delivery of Songa Encourage. This is the third Category D rig we take delivery of in a series of four rigs, all going on eight year contracts with Statoil in Norway. We are now looking forward to see the rig commence drilling operations in Norway", says CEO Bjørnar Iversen.
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Image: The Songa Equinox
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