Maersk Drilling (CPH: DRLCO) is enjoying a period of “strong operational performance”, bolstered by the sale of the Maersk Inspirer.
Divestment of the drilling and production platform to Havila Sirius was completed before the end of the third quarter as part of a previously announced deal worth $373m.
The transaction divests a “non-core asset” and “significant deleverages” Maersk Drilling’s balance sheet, the company said.
As part of the transaction, Repsol has assumed responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the rig on the Yme field in the Norwegian North Sea.
A total of 60 employees have been transferred to the Spanish operator to ensure operational continuity.
The sale of the Maersk Inspirer has resulted in Maersk Drilling’s pro-forma revenue backlog dropping to $1 billion.
The Danish-headquartered drilling company released a third quarter trading update on Wednesday, in which it revealed revenue for the period was $333m.
That’s a slight drop on the previous quarter’s figure of $350m.
Contracted days were 1,520, the same as Q2, resulting in a utilisation of 83%.
Average say rate was $219,000, a marginal drop on the previous quarter, while Maersk Drilling secured contracts with a total value of $81m across the period.
That included a deal to carry out a campaign for Harbour Energy to drill a trio of development wells on the Catcher area of the UK North Sea.
Jørn Madsen, Maersk Drilling’s chief executive, said: “I am pleased with our strong operational performance and high-quality service delivery across the Maersk Drilling rig fleet, which keeps us on track to deliver as promised in 2021.
“The successful closing of the Mærsk Inspirer transaction has significantly bolstered our balance sheet and provides financial flexibility in a market that continues to show clear signs of recovery, albeit with a challenging short-term outlook in the Norwegian jack-up sub-segment.”
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