Saudi Aramco has extended its contract with Shelf Drilling for a jack-up rig in the Arabian Gulf.
The drilling company said its Shelf Drilling Achiever had won a three-year contract extension. As a result, it should be available in December 2025.
The Shelf Drilling Achiever contract began in December 2019 and was due to end in December 2022. The jack-up is due to be out of service in the third quarter of this year, according to Shelf Drilling’s most recent fleet report.
The company signed the initial three-year contract in May 2019. At that time, it said the contract included a one-year option.
Aramco has seven of Shelf Drilling’s rigs under contract. Following the new Shelf Drilling Achiever contract, the next rig due to end its contract with Aramco is the Main Pass IV, in March 2025.
Four of the seven rigs – the High Island II, High Island IV, High Island IX and Main Pass I – are under contract until at least 2030.
Aramco extended the contract for the High Island V by three years in a recent deal. This will now work until May 2025.
Shelf Drilling does not disclose dayrates for its rigs. The average dayrate figure for the first quarter was $61,800, while effective utilisation was 85%.
“Tendering and marketing activity in the jack-up sector continues to improve in all geographies where we operate, and we have seen an acceleration over the past two months,” said CEO David Mullen in May.
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