Maersk Drilling has reached a deal to sell its Maersk Convincer oil rig to Middle East and Africa-focused driller ADES for $42.5 million.
The rig has been in operation offshore Brunei Darussalam since 2017 and the all-cash sale will drop the Maersk Drilling jack-up fleet to 10, along with eight floaters.
It comes as Maersk Drilling seeks to focus on activities in the North Sea and attempts to push through a merger with Noble Drilling, while the Southeast Asian market is “not key” to the business.
The merger has hit a stumbling block with UK competition authorities, and the pair said last week they expect to sell-off several rigs in order to overcome these hurdles.
Maersk Drilling chief financial officer Christine Morris said: “This transaction will contribute to the optimisation of our fleet in line with Maersk Drilling’s strategic priorities of maintaining a fleet of modern, high-end assets and concentrating our jack-up activities in the harsh environments of the North Sea.
“Though the sale marks the end of an era of proud operations and exemplary collaboration with BSP – a joint venture between the government of Brunei Darussalam and the Shell group of companies – during which our rigs have won multiple Shell Group Jack-up of the Year awards, the Southeast Asian jack-up market is not key to us.”
The sale of Maersk Convincer does not change the firm’s financial guidance for 2022, it said.