North Sea drilling firm Songa Offshore has admitted it may have to sell off more assets in order to finace four new rigs being built.
The Norwegian firm sold its Songa Eclipse semi-submersible rig to Seadrill for $590million earlier this year.
But in its latest report,the company admitted it would need to look to strengthen its balance sheet to fund the Cat D rigs currently being built in Korea.
“The company continues to work on a number of initiatives in order to strengthen its balance
sheet,” it said.
“These processes include possible sale of assets and potential partnerships.”
The first rig, the Songa Equinox, may be delivered up to six months later than planned due to capacity problems at the DSME yard, while the other three rigs may be delayed by a further three months.
But the company, which has chartered out the new rigs to Statoil, said it expected a brighter future as the company’s Norwegian fleet benefited from restrictions for other firms entering the country’s drilling market.
“Strict regulations and harsh environmental conditions will help ensure that the first Songa units to
come off contract will be met with favorable market conditions,” the company said.
Profits fell for the second quarter of 2013 to $4.5million, down from $10.6million in the same period the previous year, due to lost revenue from not having the Eclipse on its books.